Promises Never Kept
by Tigerz101
Summary: He promised her he would return. They would finally get married..everything. But he never did. He left her alone, for so long. Now she promises, to never love someone like him again. "Lucy, I love you, I want to be with you! Whatever you don't think will work Ill make sure it will!" He pleaded to her, pinning her against the wall. "Im sorry...I just cant.." *NaLu*
1. Alone

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 1**

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She stared at the diamond ring that hugged her pale finger with wonder. It had a shiny silver lining and a two-carat diamond right in the middle. Simple, yet beautiful. It was beautiful, more than she could of asked for. She was elated to have such a symbol of her love for the man who had bought her it, yet she felt like she couldn't express any of it at the moment. Not one crack in her emotionless expression showed the sorrow behind it all. She knows she shouldn't be acting like this, she was getting married for heaven's sake! But...what happens between that time and now...she couldn't help but feel sad.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the wooden frame she sat on. It was one of those window cubbies with a few pillows and blankets thrown in. She sat dreamily, her legs stretched out as far as they could reach, which was close enough to be considered she was hugging her knees. Her head turned slightly to gaze out the window, catching the bright sunlight in a gleam of her window and the turquoise waters that shined like her ring in the river that drifted along her apartment buildings. She always loved the view from her apartment, how peaceful and beautiful it was, it always managed to cheer her up in the sourest of moods. And it was working. With little effect, of course, but it was working.

Her head looked back down to her ring that glimmered in the sunshine behind her window. She heaved a distressed sigh and closed her eyes briefly, trying to soak up in warm shines in her pale skin. She wanted the comfort of the sun on her skin, of the view of the lake, but no matter how hard these wonderful things tried, they just weren't enough. The true comfort she needed was the fact that her soon-to-be husband would be safe and sound. But she can't rely on that, she knows she just can't.

A knock on her door dragged her away from her thoughts. She opened her brown eyes and turned to see her soon-to-be husband in the doorway. Or at least she hoped to be soon-to-be husband.

"Lucy?" He asked for her well-being as he fully walked into the room, gently closing the door shut after himself.

Lucy gave a small smile towards the man and dropped her legs over the side of the windowpane. He returned the gesture, yet he saw the look in her eyes as she took in his appearance. Or at least his clothing.

"You're really doing this, aren't you?" She asked him in a weak voice as her head lowered to her lap.

He sighed and crouched down to her level, taking her soft hands into his and laying them on her lap. She looked up to him and gave him a look that made him grieve inside, yet he knew better than to let it take him over. He hated seeing her so upset over this, but deep down, he knew he couldn't blame her. He would feel the same way if it were her, probably begging her to stay and to never leave him. Yet he knows that he had to do this, there was no backing out now. He knew this would happen once he signed up in the first place, but he didn't exactly know her back then either..

"I'll be back before you know it." He reassured her as he squeezed her hands in his.

Lucy looked up into his eyes and gave him a harsh look.

"And what if you don't come back at all? Do you kn-"

"Lucy, I will come back." He cut off her angered remark.

She just sighed and tilted her head to the side, finding the shelf crammed with books a better way to look than down to him.

"I won't die, Lucy." He continued to reassure her, still giving her occasional squeezes to her hand.

Besides his comforting words, the blonde still felt warm tears swarm in her eyes. She struggled with keeping them there, though but the noises of her sniffing her runny nose could give away she was about to cry.

"Do you promise me? That...you'll come back?" She asked in a hushed whisper, keeping her teary eyes to her lap and her hands gently clenching his.

"I promise, Lucy. Don't worry, okay?" He said, giving her a slight smile on his handsome face.

Lucy returned the small gesture and leaned forward to give a final kiss goodbye to her fiancé. She brought a limp hand to his neck, slightly bringing him closer and felt him pull away. She sniffed her nose and hesitantly opened her eyes again, seeing him give her a smile.

"I promise you, right after I come back, we will get married okay? You will have the wedding of your dreams and it will all be as you imagined." He beamed to her, his smile widening as he saw her grow one herself.

"Right after you come back?" Lucy asked him nervously, gazing up to him for an answer.

"Of course, Lucy. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait." He chuckled lightly at her as she let a smile overtake her face.

That's what he wanted to see, that beautiful smile he knows so well. He loved making her smile and laugh, just because he loved her smile. The way her perfect pink lips opened widely to show off her pearly white teeth, it made him giddy inside. He hated the thought of not being able to see that wonderful smile for so long, but it was all well worth it when he can see that every day after he comes back.

"I have to go, I love you Lucy." He said, giving her his same old half smile, which always came off as a smirk to her. He stood up, slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder and laid out a hand for the woman.

She gladly took it and wrapped her arms around his chest, squeezing the daylights out of him. This may be the last time they could hug again. She could feel all of his patches sewed on his chest pocket. Army patches.

He was entering the army today. Well, right now in fact. He was being sent somewhere Lucy didn't very much care about, a war is a war right? She hated him leaving her for a year, just to do what? Blow other people up? She _hated_ the fact that he could be getting hurt in this. He could even die for heaven's sake! But, as he said before..he has no choice now. All she can do is hope. And pray. Just...keep praying.

Lucy felt her warm tears slide down her face and drop onto his camouflage jacket. He clung on to her tighter in response, his strong arms closing her into his chest snugly and his pale chin that rested on her head readjusted itself to the side of her head.

Just keep praying.

"I love you too, Loke."

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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After their final goodbyes, Lucy watched as Loke's plane took off flying. He was really doing it. He was..leaving. She felt her heart ache in pain of those words. Tears still cascaded down her pale face as her eyes never left the window. This, in some way, was the last time she would see him in a long time.

_Stay positive_

That's right. She shouldn't be thinking about all the bad things that would happen. She should be thinking about all the other good stuff, like how she can see Loke in a year when he returns and all the wedding preparations to be made. She had no time to be worried. Loke was a smart and suave man, she knows he won't do anything too reckless. She could trust him. If he promised her that he _would_ return, then she believed him. She had too.

Loke was a responsible man. He knew his limits on things, yet he never stopped pushing it. He always strived to be the best he could, and he loved helping others to be just like him. He fit his zodiac sign well; a Leo. He lead people to be happy and smile.

Despite his past, that didn't well support what she had just described of him, he had changed his ways. And Lucy was to blame. He was a playboy, only toyed with girls feelings and could care less if they hated his guts after he was done with them. He was good-looking, and he knew it. He used that god-given fact to his advantage, making his physically irresistible to a woman's (and sometimes mans) eye. He was used to having any chick he wanted at any given time. It all just came easy to him.

No, he wasn't like this from birth. He had a heart once, and he had given it to his girlfriend; Karen. She wasn't the sweetest of girls, most the time she was yelling at him or smacking his sister, Aries, just because she had complained to Loke about her act. Loke knew she was troublesome and generally a mean person, yet he still loved her. He wanted nothing but to just help her.

He thought calling off their relationship would finally kick some sense into her. Make her realize that if she didn't change her wicked ways then nobody would love her. Even the man who loved her most. But really..she just couldn't see that.

Karen had committed suicide two months after Loke called it off with her. His heart shattered that day. It was _his_ fault. She couldn't bear having no one in her life, not having _Loke_ in her life. She pleaded and pleaded him to take her back, but he refused. He knew she was just the same as she ever was. It killed him knowing that if he had taken her back, she would probably still be here right now.

And if it weren't for Lucy, Loke probably wouldn't even be here either. He tried to tear his mind away from Karen, he went out with girls day after day, yet the haunting thoughts never left him. For years, he did nothing but play with girls emotions, just hoping one day that would be enough to stop Karen from eating him alive. It never was.

Loke planned to pay his debt to Karen, and join her in the heavens. Lucy was just passing by when she caught him about to jump off a cliff into the ocean beneath it. Amazingly, she had talked him out of it and returned him to safety. She brought him home, fed him, gave him a shoulder to lean on. She never did once, ask why he would try something like that. Of course, she yelled at his stupid and cowardly idea, but she didn't care what the reason was. Killing yourself is never the answer. It's far from it.

From then on, the two sort of clicked. They easily fell in love and became a happy couple, planning their special day after he returned from the war.

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Lucy returned to her home and tried to continue on her life. It was a little lonely without her fiancé with her, but she knew that was something she had to get used too. Most the time, she really didn't really mind being alone. She would just watch movies at midnight, using the best thing in the world, Netflix. Though, when she did get lonely, she had an old friend from college she stayed in touch with. They often hung out at the outside shoppes or went out for a lunch date from time to time.

Lucy tried keeping her mind off Loke, how he was doing, if he was hurt, what was he doing right then..she knew she shouldn't be worrying so much but she couldn't help it. She knows she has to think of something other than him, or else that time when he comes will seem so much longer than what it really was.

Of course, that was sort of hard when she had to plan their wedding. Loke said she could have it any way she wanted, and he would happily comply for his 'princess', but this wasn't just her day, it was _theirs_. And she wanted to make sure Loke was genuinely happy with her decisions too. Even though he wasn't here to tell her 'Oh, I don't like this' or 'How about red, instead of yellow?', Lucy just used her imagination to what she thought he would like. He always seemed to know what she would like, like that her favorite colors were blue and pink, and that she loved star-gazing just as much as he did. Even if she would never admit it, she loved it when he used his little 'playboy moves' on her. Of course she didn't like it in general, but only if he used them on her. Who wouldn't love being told you're beautiful and a 'princess' every time he spoke to you? No matter where he was, if he was physically with her or not, he always managed to bring a smile to her face.

And that's what he did. Lucy often received letters from her love every month or so, being the only thing to let her know that he was okay. She just felt pure happiness burst from within her when she saw the army stamp on the envelope that was on her doormat. She would forget everything else in the world and just snuggle up in her sheets, ready to see how well he was doing.

It always irked her whenever she read his notes and it turns out to be more about her than him. He never fails to disappoint a lady if a chance comes. He did put his current situation, either being at base camp sitting around a fire or asleep in his 'bed', but he never once didn't say how much he missed the blonde and how he missed seeing her beauty every day. He thanked her for being patient with him and always having faith in him and told her he would return soon.

That's basically the wrap of them all.

_I'm doing fine, Lucy. I miss you and all your perfectness and beauty and I thank you for waiting for me. Keep working on that perfect wedding of ours and I will see you soon. I love you, my princess._

_._

_Hello Lucy, I'm doing well. I miss you and all your perfectness and I will see you soon. I love you, my princess._

Okay, maybe it was a bit more detailed than that, but that was the gist of it all. She sometimes got annoyed with how unself-centered he was. Like, couldn't he tell a bit more about he was in the, oh I don't know, the WAR? Who cares about her beauty and kindness, she wants to know if he's hurt or not! But hey, she kind of figured he would be like that. That's kind of just who he was. A stupid playboy.

Lucy laughed at her thoughts. No matter how committed he was too a girl, he still had his little suave remarks and lines to make any girls jaw drop and cheeks flush. As long as he only used them on her, she was _completely_ fine with it.

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Lucy shivered in the cold breeze of Magnolia and pulled on her coat tighter. Her feet trudged through the ankle-high snow that covered the city like a blanket. She wanted to hurry home, it was about the time of one of Loke's letters and she wanted to waste no time if their was.

Lucy saw her apartment door in the snowy distance and blew out a breath of air. It puffed up from her slightly blue lips and disappeared into the dreary sky.

She stomped her feet on her mat, trying to get the remaining snow out from in-between the crevasses of her boot and looked down to the stack of letters next to her. She took up the whole stack in her freezing hands and excitedly ran to her bed and plopped down on it. She bounced up slightly and brought her knees to her chest snugly before looking to the stack in her hands.

Shifting through each letter, taking one and putting it behind another again and again, she finally found the army postage stamp she had been looking for. She gazed at the envelope, pursing her lips. It looked...different. The stamp looked different, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it from what it was.

Lucy tore open the letter and unfolded it, feeling uneasiness stir within her stomach. The letter was typed. Like from a computer, not his usual fancy handwriting with 16th century wording. Had something happened to him? Why...why would they send her a letter? Was he coming home?

Lucy eagerly began to read the letter, eyebrows arching in worry and fingers tingling in anxiousness. Her eyes scanned every word in the document with precision. Her heart beat grew faster and it became harder to swallow. Her stomach churned in a sickly manner and hot tears swarmed in her eyes. She stared at the piece of paper with wide eyes as her tears spilled from them.

_**Dear Miss Lucy Heartfillia,**_

_**We are sorry to inform you that your fiancé, LTC Loke Lionel, was found deceased in a raid of our camp by the forces of an explosion. His nametag was taken as a memorial and was sent to you for safekeeping. We are so sorry for your loss, Miss. Heartfillia. LTC Lionel died a good man in service for our country and he is greatly honored in our society.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_Makarov Dreyer_  
**Makarov Dreyer**  
**Untited States Military  
National Army**

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**Okay guys, I know Ive been doing that little contest thingy, and I will do the winner, but omg I just fell in love with this story idea and now I just want to share it sooo badly. Thanks for reading AND OMG IF YOU DONT REVIEW IM GOING TO FLIPPIN WRING YOUR NECK!**

**Anyways, hoped you liked the beginning and how cute I think it is...doesn't fit in this chapter but later on you'll see!**

**Thanks guys :***


	2. Moving On

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 2**

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Lucy ran a thumb against the engravings on the metal tag gently, tears still flowing freely down her red face. Depression had practically consumed her, eating her from the inside out like a deadly disease. That gnawing feeling erupted in her stomach every time she thought about Loke. It was harder to swallow and tears automatically reproduced in her brown eyes as her mind repeated that name.

_Loke_

She sobbed pathetically into a pillow she clutched to her chest as she sat on her bed. She rarely ever left her bed anymore, much less her apartment. All day and all night, all she thought about was her dead fiancé. He plagued her thoughts constantly, everything she saw it reminded her of him.

The couch, where they shared their first kiss.

The TV, where they watched _so_ many movies together.

Her desk, where she would try to write her stories, yet Loke kept distracting her by wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek sweetly.

So many things, so many memories..all lost. All gone.

Lucy held the note in her hand limply. She reread it over and over, still trying to somewhat believe he was actually _gone_. But no matter how many times she did, no matter how many reassurances she tried to convince herself of, it was all the same. Loke was gone. Along with his promise. Lucy would not have the wedding she dreamed of, she would no longer have the man she dreamed of. He left her. She was alone.

It killed her to call off the wedding. To call all those people that worked so hard on it all, and all the people she wanted to attend it..she could barely even do it. It wasn't a lot of people she had invited on her side, most of her family was dead and she only invited her best friend, Levy Mcgarden.

Once Levy had heard the awful news, she rushed over to her friend's house immediately. She could hear the heart-wrenching sobs from a mile away. They were the saddest cries she had ever heard. She sat there, holding her best friend as she sobbed and sobbed on her shoulder. She didn't even know what she was crying about, all she had gotten was a phone-call that was filled with cries of sadness.

Even Levy began to cry as she read the note. She knew how much the two loved each other, it was amazingly strong. She could hear the pure pain in Lucy's cry, it broke _her_ heart to see her best friend like this. All she could do was give her a shoulder to cry on. She wished she could do more, but that's not exactly an option with death circumstances. You can't just go off and beat up the guy for breaking your friends heart, because he simply didn't _mean_ too. She couldn't fix this one, no matter how much she wanted too.

Lucy's only chance was to give it time. A lot of time. She didn't want to eat or sleep, but Levy forced her too. She had nightmares of Loke and lost her appetite. She'd probably be dead of starvation by now if it weren't for her.

The days passed and Lucy only ever did what she did the day before. Hugging her pillow and showering it with tears as she sat on her bed. Her life became a void of darkness, nothingness. She just felt hollow inside, like her entire insides had been ripped out. But it wasn't, it was just her heart, and Loke had taken that to the grave with him.

Loke's family held a funeral service for him a couple weeks after they found out about his death. It was raining, just really adding on to the depressed feeling they had there. Lucy almost didn't feel like going. She didn't want to hear all the apologies and such when there, none of those words would bring him back, so none of those words mattered to her.

Thankfully, Lucy did go to his service. She was quiet the entire time, just staring at his rose-covered casket with a blank emotion that screamed so much more. She didn't cry, talk, nothing. No one even dared to approach her from that _look_ in her face. Of course, Loke's sister tried to, but Lucy just simply faked a smile and went off away from her.

Lucy was the last person to be at the graveyard. Loke's casket was buried, along with Lucy's heart he unintentionally took with him. She just stared at the stone grave that peeked up in between the muddy ground with that same expression. She couldn't care less that her black dress was beginning to get soaked, the rain somehow made her feel better. The gloomy and depressed atmosphere just made her feel like she wasn't the only one suffering like she was at this time. But in all truth, she was.

That's when Lucy started to cry. It started out as a simple tear, cascading down her face slowly, then more came. A lot more. She started to sob softly, then not so softly. In the end, she was just bawling to his grave with pure _heartbreak_. She slid down to her knees in the watery mud and just stared wide eyed at the piece of stone in front of her. Her hands fisted the dirt strongly and her body shook with every sob, every whimper that was released from within her hollow shell. She had never felt like this before...so sad, so alone. Without him, she just felt like she was nothing. He was her everything, just like she was his.

...her everything..

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**~Promises Never Kept~**

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Over time, Lucy's condition did get better. It was a bitter road to go down too, but she slowly made her progress. She didn't cry as much during the day, she would walk around, _actually_ leave her bed and read peacefully for a while. She still didn't leave her apartment though, no matter how many times Levy pleaded with her to go.

During the nights Lucy would still cry. She would just lay in her bed and stare out the window, dampening her pillow with silent tears that strolled down her face. She clutched the letter to her heart at times too, sometimes she always had it on her like she just couldn't let go of it. She still read it restlessly, but she hasn't cried every time she did. She would just stare at certain words in the text, like 'deceased' and 'loss', with that same blank face she had at the funeral.

Soon enough, there were days when Lucy didn't think about Loke as much. He just never really crossed her mind unless something happened to bring him up. She still missed him immensely, but she learned to live without him. The process was harsh and heart-wrenching, but she managed. She smiled more when Levy made her annual visits and she enjoyed her stays.

Levy had even convinced Lucy to go out with her one day. Lucy hadn't left her house since the funeral, so everything seemed different to her. The snow was gone, the air was warmer and smelled sweeter from all the flowers. She hadn't even realized how long she's been cooped up in that house, how long she's missed out on so much. New shops were added to Magnolia, new stores and attractions. Magnolia was always a thriving and lively place, something new was always happening.

She very much looked like an old lady, finally leaving her house after so long. She had a blanket wrapped around her securely and no shoes on. She looked around like she had just discovered the center of the earth, her eyes widened slightly and her body eagerly taking in what the season has to offer to her.

Lucy eventually did move on. She knew she had to at some point, but getting her to was another story. She sometimes felt like she didn't want to move on, she just liked thriving in her self pity. She knew she had to get out of the house, replace all the memorable items in there, and quit being like how she was. But she just..couldn't do it. She couldn't let go of all those things that her and Loke shared, all those memories they made together. If she did, it would just finalize that Loke was gone forever, that he wouldn't magically come back. She couldn't let go of that hope, it was all she had left.

That didn't stop Levy from doing so though. She hated seeing Lucy cry on her hands and knees as people took away her couch that she and Loke had spent so much time together on, where they even had their first kiss. But she knew that it would eventually help her. She didn't mind all the harsh words Lucy cried out to her, because inside she knew she was just hurting. She replaced everything, her living room furniture and even her bed. Practically everything reminded Lucy of Loke, so it was a difficult task to move everything. She even rearranged her furniture so Lucy couldn't picture herself and him on a couch or her writing her story while Loke distracted her.

And it did help Lucy, those little glimpses of memories that appeared in her mind didn't show up anymore. She even agreed to go out for coffee with Levy after a while of getting used to her house. She laughed more, smiled more, and was generally, moving on. She still thought of him, still kept that note with her a lot and read it at night.

Levy had noticed this and knew this was something that needed to stop for her to fully continue on in her life and find someone else for her. She told Lucy that she was doing so well, but she needed to get rid of that note. It was just a sad reminder of him and Lucy didn't need that. She needed to get rid of that, plus Loke's dog tag that came along with it. Those two things were the last physical things left of him, the two last 'stages' of Lucy's recomposire.

Lucy of course denied at first. She felt offended by her words and held the note dearly to her heart. She couldn't let go of that, she just couldn't. Levy continued to pound her with the truth of her needing to move on completely. Once she got rid of that, things would be so much easier for her.

Lucy just pleaded to her that she needed more time. She still needed more time to accept things. So after a few more months, Levy told her again. And Lucy didn't disagree this time. She needed to let go of them, but she wanted to do it her way.

Lucy brought the two to a cliff. The same cliff from where she first met him and saved his life. She stood on the edge, her toes barely off the edge and the envelope and necklace held tightly to her chest. She looked down to the crashing waves against the cliff wall, staring sadly at the sight. Levy stood behind her, a safe distance to give her time and space to do this.

Lucy read the note one last time, warm tears swarming calmly in her brown eyes and closed them gently. She put the note back in its aged envelope and held it out over the edge of the cliff. She whispered her prayers to her love and forced her fingers apart. She watched in what seemed like slow motion as the note flew down and disappeared in the dark waves beneath her. Tears streamed down her face at the sight and felt her heart ache. She clenched his necklace in her fisted hand and rubbed her finger against the engraving of it. She opened her hand and stared at it sorrowfully.

Lucy held the chain by its lock over the edge of the cliff, staring at it sway back and forth in the sea breeze and as the metal gleamed in the soft moonlight above her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from it. This was the last thing of Loke's that she had. Everything else was gone, this was the last thing she had of him. She tried tearing her fingers apart, but she just couldn't. She couldn't let go of it, she just couldn't. It was the last thing of his, the last thing to remind her of all their memories. She sobbed softly and clutched the necklace in her hand. She couldn't.

Lucy kept his necklace, tying it around her neck securely and tucked it in her shirt. She wore it with her always, when she slept, when she showered, every day since then. She refused to take it off, yet she would just shake someone off if they asked about it. Some days she didn't even notice it, it was just something she had gotten used too. She didn't think about his necklace or him at all, yet she would notice if it wasn't there anymore. She kept it precious to her, a sweet memento, she called it.

She even smiled as she glances to it occasionally. She was done crying over him, done feeling pain over him. He wouldn't want that for her, he would want her to find another man to take care of her. A good one.

Lucy did feel like she was ready to move on, but she had made a promise to herself. A very serious promise that she never intended to let slide. She promised, never to fall in love with a man in the military. She wouldn't go through that process again, having them die in a war and leave her. It was the safe way, safe from saving herself another heartbreak like Loke's. Not again would she go through that again. She would always love Loke, but she has finally, moved on.

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**Wow guys, I didn't expect that many responses on the first chapter! Especially since Natsu is nowhere to be found...yet. :}**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews everyone, I dearly appreciate it so keep at it!**


	3. The Meeting

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 3**

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Lucy sat in her dark apartment, back pressed up against the foot of couch and legs sprawled in front of her with her knees touching. The usual coffee table that sat in between the couch and tv was pushed aside lazily to give the blonde more leg room. She had a thick and fuzzy blanket that covered her from head to toe in warmth and a soft pillow cushion underneath her. Her eyes were glued to the screen as she watched yet another movie on her flat screen. Netflix was her best friend.

She buried her nose in the soft sheets as she pushed back tears from spilling from her brown eyes. She hated when these movies got the best of her. She was watching yet another sad, romantic movie that she always classified as the 'tear jerkers'. This one was The Notebook, one of her all-time favorites to watch. Seriously, every time she has watched this she can't help but cry. Either at the end or sometimes at the happiest moments, she just _bawled_. Okay, maybe not at the happiest moments, but especially at the end. Oh God...that ending...

Lucy was currently at the point in the movie where Allie had just seen Noah's ad in the paper and she was sitting in her bathtub. She was always so envious of the actor. No, not the actor, the _character_ . She wants a man to rebuild a freaking house for her, dang.

Lucy continued to let her eyes be glued to the screen and felt emptiness fill in her stomach. She hadn't really eaten all day, she needed to go shopping for groceries again, but never got around to it. Damnit Netflix.

She sighed and let her hand drop to the soft bristles of her carpet next to her, groping for the Wii controller to pause the movie. She didn't want to take her eyes off the screen, even if she had seen the film a bazillion times and scoured the carpets all around her.

"Really?" She mumbled softly in annoyance as she turned around fully to search for it.

Once she had found it, (it was in between the sofa cushions, where else?) Lucy hopped up and made her way to the kitchen, instantly missing the heat of her blanket. She sighed and looked around the small room, digging through pantries and peering in the refrigerator for something good to eat.

Like she had assumed, nothing. She turned her blonde head towards her microwave that sat above her stovetop. 12:33 flashed in bright red numbers in the blackened screen. She pursued her pink lips towards the side and stared dreamily at the clock. Was it too late to go out and buy a snack?

* * *

Lucy decided on that thought and grabbed her car keys and an old jacket. She shoved on her sandals and walked towards her front door. If she wasn't mistaken, there was a little corner store not too far from her complex that was open 24/7. She didn't really expect a lot of people to be there, so she didn't mind changing out of her big, V-neck shirt and short shorts that were normally for her eyes only. But hey, she would probably only see the cashier guy, and his view was cut off at the waist anyways, no biggie.

Lucy opened her door and let the pouring rain rumble into her apartment. Giant raindrops fell from the dark clouds above in the pitch black night and splattered to the masonry of her sidewalk with a loud splash. She heaved a big sigh and pulled on her black hoodie, hoping those raindrops didn't make it through the holes of the aged jacket.

Running as quickly as she could without slipping and falling on her ass, Lucy tugged on her hoodie to try and conceal her face from the harsh rain pellets. Her ankles and sandaled feet sloshed through the rainwater that flooded her streets, making shivers go up her leg from the drop of temperature. Water splashed everywhere and she abruptly stopped at her parked car.

Lucy heaved a relieved sigh as she got into her dry car and tore her soaked hoodie off her hair. She wasted no time on starting the Prius, just wanting to get some food to last her the week then be on her way. She drove in the hurricane of weather and just barely saw the dim lights of the store up aways.

It was empty of course, besides the car that the cashier owned. At least she hoped it was, she didn't need any other people seeing her in such skimpy clothing. She parked her car in an empty spot and hesitantly opened up her car door into the storm. As soon as she placed her foot on the ground, which by the way was practically underwater, her sandal slipped off a bit. She shrieked a bit and slumped back down into her seat harshly. This was gonna be hard.

Lucy finally managed to get into the store, so glad she was out of that rain, even if it was for a minute. She eagerly bought a six-pack of Dr. Pepper and a family size bag of Barbecue chips, which in a way made her feel chubby she could easily scarf down a FAMILY size bag. She shook the thought away and paid the man in the booth. She resisted making a disgusted expression from appearing on her face when he gave her a toothy, yet toothless smile with a wooden pick sticking out from the sides. She forgot he could see her outfit once she backed away from the stand, giving the man a generous view of her exposed legs.

Hurrying the hell outta there, Lucy sucked in a breath of air and darted for her car again. She squeezed her eyes shut from all the rain blurring her vision and slapped her feet in puddles of rainwater that only seemed to rise in the past couple of minutes. Her plastic bags bounced against her legs as she jogged to the small car skillfully and carefully. She still tried to avoid getting wet, even if she was already soaked to the bone.

Lucy shifted her two bags into one hand and let her other hand reach for the handle. She pulled eagerly on the handle. Nothing. She pulled again. Nope.

"Please don't tell me.." She mumbled under her breath as her hand felt around her jacket pockets for her keychain. She whimpered like an sad child when she felt no keys anywhere on her.

Just freaking great.

Lucy squinted her eyes on the window and looked around in the darkness of her car. She saw a gleam of metal on the floor of her carpeted car. How the heck did they get there!?

_As soon as she placed her foot on the ground, which by the way was practically underwater, her sandal slipped off a bit. She shrieked a bit and slumped back down into her seat harshly._

That stupid jacket! They must've fallen out when she fell!

"No.." Lucy whined as let her soaked head slam into the car door.

How can she really be locked out of her car in this hurricane of weather with no one to turn to but a perverted cashier in nothing but shorts and a giant shirt? Isn't this just her _freaking_ day.

Despite the fact she was still locked out, Lucy continued to pull on her handle again and again, just _reeally_ hoping it would magically open. She was too far away to walk home and she'd rather do _anything_ than go ask that guy for help. She has a feeling he would do a lot more than help her if he had the chance.

"Please.." She faked a crying tone to no one in particular. She sniffed dramatically and banged her head against the window again. She felt like she was being drowned in this rain, but it still somehow seemed better than going to that guy. She banged her head again at the thought.

"Need some help with that?" A man's voice said from behind her, slightly raised to overpower the loud raindrops that fell uncontrollably.

Lucy gasped a bit and turned behind her to find the owner of the voice. She saw bright headlights of a X-Terra Honda shine in her eyes and the assumingly owner standing in front of it. He was wearing a simple T-shirt and an unzipped jacket with worn jeans and sneakers. She squinted in the rain and light to see he was also wearing a baseball cap that created a mini waterfall of water off the front.

Lucy just smiled awkwardly at the man and gave a weak laugh.

"Uh, yeah. I guess..." She spoke as he approached her with a smile that said 'you really look like you don't know what you're doing here'.

And his smile was exactly what he was thinking. Here he was, just wanting to stop by a store and get some stupid cake mix for his 'friend', and saw this girl, wearing some really inappropriate clothes for this weather and banging her head on her car door at 1 in the morning. She really looked like she could use some help, so he figured why not?

Lucy backed up out of his way as he came up to her car door. He pulled the handle once, just making sure this girl wasn't _that_ stupid to not figure out how to open the door correctly and turned to her.

"Where are your keys?" He asked her over the rain.

She gave him another stupid smile and pointed a finger to her car window shyly.

"In there.." She laughed weakly and gave him an apologetic glance.

The man followed the trail of her pale finger and peered inside her car. He saw the gleam of all her keys on the floor right in front of the drivers pedals. He looked back up to her and slightly laughed at her clumsiness.

"No spare?" He asked over the rain, amusement poking in between his words.

Lucy met his gaze, or at least she thought she did with all this rain blurring her sight and made her lips form a sorrowful smile. She shook her head lightly and jammed her hands in her coat pockets.

She heard the man sigh at the conditions and look around the two. She wondered what he was thinking, or planning on doing. It wouldn't surprise her if he just gave up and wished her the best of luck. She supposes she deserved this, she should've just stuck with the jar of pickles in her fridge and none of this would've happened. And not to mention what she decided to wear was the best choice of all. She instantly became flushed and conscious of how she must look, but at least she was happy she wore a BLACK shirt instead of a white one. The shirt still hung off her shoulder, revealing her sports bra strap and clung to her from all the rain, but still. This just wasn't her day.

"Well, want me to drive ya home?" He offered with a defeated sigh, looking over to stare at her.

Lucy stared back at him with surprise dancing in her brown orbs. Did he really just offer that? He wasn't just going to leave? She was genuinely shocked by him.

"What about my car?" She decided to ask, laying a hand on her baby gently.

The man let out a joyful laugh that confused her a bit.

"Well, its about 1 in the morning, I don't think any service stations are open now. Plus, I don't think anyone will steal it, they couldn't even if they tried." He chuckled at her and stuffed hands in his jacket pocket, looking to her for an answer to his earlier offer.

Lucy pursed her lips and directed her gaze away from his. Of course she wanted a ride back home and wanted nothing but to get back into her blanket in front of her TV and finish watching her movie, but should she really? I mean, dressed like how she is, should she really get in a car with a stranger at 1 in the morning? What if he kidnapped her! No one would know where she went! Well, maybe that creepy guy in the store, but still. Should she risk it? He seems like a nice guy, and if he were to kidnap her he sure could've done it by now with no trance left behind. But...

"Umm..." She decided to say of all things, rubbing her drenched hair awkwardly and staring at the stream of water pouring into the sewage system.

"I won't kidnap you, promise." He joked lightly, still giving her a friendly smile with the same glint in his eyes.

Lucy looked back up to him shyly and let out a slight laugh. Oh what the hell.

"Alright." She nodded her head with a defeated sigh.

The man let a grin take over his face and gave her a warm look.

"Great! Let's get out of this rain." He huffed in annoyance and reached down to grab her plastic bags.

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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Lucy eagerly entered the man's car, slamming the door shut. He did the same and placed her bags in the backseat on the floor. She looked over to the man with a grateful look, noticing he was shaking out his baseball cap from all the excess water.

Her eyes widened a bit at the sight. She couldn't help let out a soft giggle, his hair was _pink_! That was just too cute. It looked normally spiky but it fell over his eyes messily from the rain, which he pushed back.

Now that they were out of the rain, they were able to take in the others proper appearance. His skin was nicely tanned, sleeked shinely with rain water along with his clothes. He had dark eyes, yet were so bright and vibrant with emotion. He looked like he was well built, had broad shoulders and a buff chest, not bad, if she can say herself.

The man started up his car again and drove away from the small store, leaving Lucy's car and the toothless man.

"Thanks for helping me out, I probably would've been stuck there all night if it weren't for you." Lucy sighed in relief and ruffled her wet hair with her hand, looking to him thankfully.

"I couldn't just leave you out there, it was no problem. What's your name?" He shrugged to her and asked nicely.

"Oh, I'm Lucy Heartfillia." Lucy introduced herself with a sweet smile.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel, nice to meetcha." He spoke to her with a big, crooked grin to add to his friendly tone.

Lucy felt her heart start beating faster at that grin. She was used to guys with perfect, prince charming smiles, like that had bright white teeth, all straightened to perfection and each side of his lips were even. But with Natsu, his was..different. It showed so much more meaning than the others she had seen on random people she passed. His was lopsided, the right side lifting up more the left, his teeth were sharp and pointed at his canines, unlike she'd had seen ever, and it simply just took over his whole face. He didn't need to talk nice to her if that smile was doing all the talking for him.

"So, uh, where do you live?" He asked, knocking her out of her trance of the raindrops on her window.

Lucy looked over to him and just pointed down the road they were already driving down limply.

"Oh, just keep going straight. I'll tell you when to turn." She told him and slouched in her seat, enjoying the heat his car gave off.

Natsu nodded his head in understanding and leaned on his window ledge. The same thought kept running through his mind about her through, since it was silent between them in the moment, he supposes he could just ask.

"So what were you doing at the store at 1 in the morning?" He asked in a certain tone that meant 'why would you be stupid enough to leave for the store at 1, wearing _that_?'

Lucy laughed a bit at his tone and his raised eyebrow towards her. She just shrugged her arms and squeezed out some water from the ends of her hair.

"Just went for a...midnight snack." She decided to say, looking to him amusingly.

"Really?" He laughed at her, turning his head back and forth from her and the road.

She blushed of embarrassment and kept a small smile, sinking deeper into her chair to hide herself.

"Y-Yeah...what about you?" She asked, eagerly wanting to take the subject off of her stupidity.

Natsu just shrugged and adjusted his windshield wipers to the highest setting.

"I had to get a snack for my temperamental friend."

Lucy held in a sneer laugh, shaking her head and gazing out to the window streamed with water drops.

"She's practically a demon without her strawberry cake and of course, I had to get her some now or else it'd be the end of me." Natsu explained, shivering of the thought of the red-heads demands.

Lucy giggled at his description of his friend, taking it as a joke and just nodded her head. She liked strawberry cake too.

"Understandable."

* * *

Lucy squinted out the blurred windshield and tried reading the road sign.

Strawberry. Street.

"Just turn up here, in that circle."

Natsu slowed down the car and pulled into the circle parking lot, seeing the large Magnolia river run down the sides of all her apartment buildings. Beautiful masonry was lined along the river bank and apartment doors, but was hard to see in the harsh rain.

"I can walk from here." Lucy informed him and unbuckled her seat.

Natsu abruptly stopped the car from moving and watched as she leaned back in between their seats to grab her bags. He still heard the low rumble of thunder in the distance as rain still pelted the windshield.

"You sure?" He asked worriedly.

Lucy held the bags on her wrist and gave him a warm smile. She cracked open the door, releasing the barrier of rain that now fell onto her and the door.

"Yeah, I kinda have to walk there anyways." She shrugged and stepped out into the freezing rain.

"Let me help you!" Natsu yelled over the power of the rain and opened his own door.

He grabbed his hat and hurriedly went to her side, shivering in goose bumps from the drop of temperature thanks to the storm. He came over and gave another friendly smile at Lucy before gently taking her bags away for him to hold.

"Oh, you don't have too..." She declined, yet made no effort to keep the bags in her hands as he took them.

"It's cool, I wanna make sure you get there alright too." He grinned at her, showing off his sharp canines.

Lucy smiled sheepishly and would probably blush if she wasn't freezing to death right now. She mumbled a thanks and stuffed her hands in her pockets while they were on their way to her apartment.

Lucy pointed to the peach colored building and sloshed through the ankle-length waters again that still continued to flood lightly. She heaved a relieved sigh and made it up to her door.

She pulled on her metal handle, the door not moving an inch. She pulled again. Nothing.

"Ah wait, my key." She told Natsu as he leaned against her apartment, glad to be partially out of the rain thanks to her overhang.

Lucy felt around her jacket pockets and froze.

Oh. Shit.

"Oh my gosh..." She sighed and banged her head on her door, much like what she did with her car door.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked her above the rain.

Lucy lifted her face from her peach-colored door and looked to him with an exasperated look.

"My house key is on my keychain...which is in my car.." She told him, looking away while she expected him to yell at her or something.

Silence, besides the roaring rain and thunder filled between the two adults. Lucy still refused to look at the man, so she didn't know what he must of looked like right now.

Natsu broke the calm silence with full-blown laughter. Lucy looked over to him like he was crazy and saw him with his mouth wide open and his finger tipping up the front of his hat. He turned to lean on his back against her home while he still continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"You really are a klutz, aren't you?" He managed to say, then burst out doing a childish giggle again.

Lucy just sighed and rolled her eyes playfully, letting out a weak laugh. Her laughs became stronger, yet sounded more whiny, like she was about to cry. She wasn't, a smile still held on her face amazingly, but inside she was screaming. And that's what she did.

Lucy just walked out into the freezing rain and groaned loudly into the darkened sky. It probably would've woken up some neighbors, but the rain drowned her out and frankly, she didn't care either way. How could she be locked out of her house at this time!

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" She screamed and slumped into the cold waters as they traveled down her street and into the sewers.

She sat on her butt with her knees touching and the rest of her leg sprawled out in opposite directions. She could care less that the last spot of dry clothing was now not dry, but somehow she figured there was never a dry spot from when she first stepped out of her house.

Natsu just watched her in amusement and kept himself under the overhang. He sighed, catching her attention and crossed his arms, trying to keep in some heat.

"Well, what are you going to do?" He asked her.

Lucy just lifted her pale face to the skies and closed her eyes. She felt the pelting raindrops on her skin and exhaled a sigh too.

"I don't know.." She whined lightly.

Lucy reopened her eyes and stared as the drops fell down to her face in 3D. It was slightly intriguing to watch, yet she still rather be inside watching The Notebook with her blanket. She missed her blanket so much.

She looked over to Natsu and noticed he was still holding up her bags for her. She laughed a bit at him and said, "You can put those down, ya know. They're soaked anyways."

Natsu just chuckled at her and did as she said, laying them down under the small overhang. He strolled out, keeping his hands in his jacket pockets and came up beside her a bit.

"Well, what about your landlady?" He asked, trying to figure out _something_ for the girl.

"Its two o'clock in the morning, I doubt I'll survive if I wake her up now." Lucy answered, humor still hinting in between her words.

Natsu laughed at her remark and looked out to the wide river next to them. He could still see shops and other buildings across the river, and a nice curved bridge connecting the two streets.

"Well, I guess you'll have to wait then." He said, looking back to her with squinted eyes from all the rain.

Lucy just lifted her head up to the sky again, giving the rain more access to her skin. She just wanted this night to be _over_ already.

"I guess.." She said in a bored and surrendered tone.

Natsu looked back to her figure, studying her once again for that night. Nice blonde hair, big brown eyes, a busty girl and nice legs. Not that he was being a perv or anything but she's kinda flauntin' them off with those shorts of hers. She still sat in a puddle of rainwater, soaked completely. She had given up on her hoodie and just let her hair take in all the water like a shower.

She was definitely funny, a clumsy girl with a sweet attitude that just made it fun to poke at her and be around her. She seemed like a smart girl, maybe a bit more book smart than street-smart, but in general an intelligent girl. He liked being around her, he wouldn't admit it to her in risk of her getting angry, but he found it highly amusing to watch her just give up like this and whine like a child.

"You wanna come sit in my car? I could wait with you and keep ya company." He offered with a simple shrug of his arms.

Lucy's eyes opened at the sound of that offer and looked back to him, surprise once again dancing in her brown orbs. Did he really just offer to stay with her for another 7 hours till her landlady woke up?

"Seriously?" She asked him with a genuinely shocked tone.

"Yeah, I can't just leave you out here. You'll get sick." He answered her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lucy just stayed quiet and thought about his offer. Of course she would love to accept it, I mean hey, free warmth and dry conditions? Count her in, but he's already done so much for her. She would just feel bad for making him stay with her when he could be home sleeping. And she's sure this isn't what he had planned to happen when he first came over to help her. It just felt like she was asking a bit too much from him.

"I don't want to bother you or anything..I mean-"

"I insist." He cut her off with a playful smirk. He already knew the answer, let's just quit beatin' around the bush and get to it.

Lucy smiled awkwardly at him, knowing his thoughts from the look on his face. She finally stood up out of her mini river of water, pushing down on one knee carefully as she tried not to slip.

"Thanks Natsu, I really owe you one." She told him sheepishly and walked over to him slowly.

Natsu just laughed at her sympathetically thankful look in her eyes and slapped his hat down on her head to brighten her up a bit.

"Its no problem. Come on, let's get outta here." He nodded his head in the direction of his car while jogging over to grab her bags.

Lucy just smiled widely at him and nodded a, "Yeah."

* * *

Lucy and Natsu sat in his car, soaked to the bone of water and dripping it all off everywhere. Natsu didn't really tend to feel cold that much, he was always hot instead, so the freezing rain didn't do that much affect of him. Sure, it was still cold but he wasn't that bad.

He noticed though, Lucy on the other hand was shivering with goose bumps all over her. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and brought her legs up to join them.

"Cold?" He asked, already reaching for his keys to start the engine and start the heat. It didn't really matter to him, but it looked like she needed it.

"That's okay, I don't wanna waste your gas or anything." She smiled sweetly to him and just hugged her soaked knees.

"Well you're cold right?" He began, looking at her with playfulness dancing in his dark eyes.

Lucy figured she could just lie to the man and let him save his tank of gas, but either way if she said it believably or not, her constant shivers and body language gave her answer away before he could even ask the question.

"Well..." She stammered out, not finding the courage to tell him the truth.

"Then let's use the heater, that's what it's for right?" He asked her with that same glint in his eyes that made Lucy resist rolling her eyes at.

Her mouth opened to deny, just hoping he would drop the manner already. She was already being a huge burden on the guy, she doesn't want to be any more of one than she already was, but she knew, either way he was going to get what he wants. And that was to let her admit to defeat and just turn on the freaking heater. And that's what he got.

"Yes..." She sighed and released her legs to return to the floor, wearing a defeated smile on her face.

Natsu grinned and started up the car, releasing the warm bursts of air that Lucy greedily took in. He figured he could still help her out and leaned to his backseat.

"Here." Lucy heard him say as he brought out a jacket for her to wear.

She looked down at the jacket, then up to him, then down to it again.

"Don't you want to wear it?" She asked, laying a hand on its soft and dry fabric.

Natsu just shook his head and pushed the jacket into her arms. He still found it amusing to when she still didn't want to do something to annoy him or be a burden. They were kinda past that point by now.

Lucy gave him a sweet smile and accepted the jacket into her hands.

"Thanks Natsu...again.." She drifted off with a shy laugh at the end as she looked down to her lap.

He smiled at how her laugh sounded and watched as she took off her old jacket and put on his. It was pretty big on her, her shoulders peeked out from the top and the sleeves were loose and dangly, but she didn't seem to mind.

"You're really nice, you know that?" Lucy told him as she gently pulled her hair out from underneath the collar of the jacket and placed it all on her right shoulder.

Natsu just shrugged at her compliment and rested his foot on the little table that separated the passenger and driver's seat.

"It's just common courtesy." He answered and rolled up his sleeves on his jacket.

"Yeah well, it's not too common anymore." Lucy replied and readjusted his hat on her, moving it back and forth, then up and down again.

Natsu smiled to himself slightly at the blonde. She looked pretty cute wearing his stuff, the giant jacket and big baseball cap. She looked like a child wearing their parents clothing while playing dress up.

Lucy kept messing around with her hat, trying to make it fit her best. She just looked up to the top part and tugged it down to cover her face a bit more. This thing was huge.

"You got a big head." She remarked at him, still toying with his hat on her.

She looked down to him giving her a playfully offended look and started laughing at it.

"And here I just helped you-"

"Okay! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lucy giggled, holding up her hands as a surrender.

Natsu just smiled crookedly out the windshield on his left, still hearing the girls giggles. She sighed of her laughter and readjusted her back on the car door, sitting in Natsu's direction while he did the same.

"You hungry?" She asked him, catching his glance as she leaned into the backseats.

Lucy brought up her bags from the back and laid them down on her lap gently.

"I guess I won't be using these for the movie I wanted to finish tonight so dig in." She said, tossing a Dr. Pepper at him which he barely caught in his stomach.

He looked at the can, then up to her as she ate a barbecue chip from her giant bag. She pushed it towards him, offering those too and smiled at her.

"Thanks Luce!" He beamed at her and ate a chip. The girl knows good taste in foods.

"Luce?" She questioned her nickname, looking up to him as she sipped on her can.

Natsu nodded at her and sunk deeper into his chair, getting more comfortable.

"Yeah, Luce. It's a cute nickname, dontcha think?"

Lucy blushed a bit at calling the name cute and lowered her drink hesitantly. She mumbled a 'yeah' and attempted to hide her pink cheeks.

Natsu didn't even notice while he was crunching on her chips and saw her recline his chair till it hit the seat behind her. She wrapped her arms around the headrest and stared up to the roof dreamily.

"So Natsu..." She began, not taking her eyes off the roof.

Said man looked over to her curiously, seeing her wipe her face free of lingering raindrops with her sleeve of his jacket.

"Hmm?"

"You really don't have anything better to do on a Friday night then go get some cake and save a girl from her car? Don't you have any friends?" She joked lightly at him as she gazed over to him with a smile on her pink lips.

Natsu laughed at her and rested his arms behind his head leisurely. He shrugged and answered, "I guess not, but I'm hangin out with you right? So I am with a friend."

Lucy looked over to him, and sure enough he was doing that lopsided grin again. She was kind of surprised he would call her his friend.

"We're friends?" She asked him before she thought about what she was saying.

Usually, she only had Levy as her 'friend'. She didn't really talk to a lot of people besides her, but she didn't think much about it. She was used to being alone most of the time, but she wasn't sad about it. She just liked her me time, but she also likes hanging out with others too.

"Yeah, unless you don't wanna be..." Natsu drifted off, frowning like a child at her.

"N-No! It's not that, I was just surprised I guess.." Lucy quickly denied his assumption and looked down to the windshield in front of her.

Natsu let his smile reappear on his tan face and stared at her happily.

"Good, I'm glad."

Lucy returned his smile and turned on her side facing him. She snuggled up to his jacket, breathing in his scent deeply while her eyes slid shut and her legs came up to her stomach. Now that she was dry and not freezing cold, exhaustion hit her like a ton of bricks. It _was_ probably about three in the morning, so she should get some sleep.

Natsu smiled to himself at her expression as she cuddled up to herself. She looked even more childish than him sometimes. He figured he should cut the engine now, his gas was running low and he didn't want it on all night. He did so, all the lights turning off along with the heat and heard Lucy mumble a 'thanks' again. He just sighed and gazed at stars out of his sunroof.

"Night Luce.."

* * *

**Ugh, you guys don't even know how eager I was to upload this chapter cuz I love it, but I had to resist...gotta get a lot of responses, right? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, YAY NATSU ARRIVED!**

**Thanks for reading everyone and don't forget to review!**


	4. The Talk

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 4**

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Lucy felt the harsh sun rays glaze upon her face, trying to break through her barrier eyelids. She squeezed her eyes tighter and shifted to the side, hoping to block out the bright light. She pulled her blanket over her head and let out an annoyed groan. Didn't she pull the curtains down on her window?

She pulled up her legs to her chest, trying to keep her legs from falling off the bed. Since when has her legs ever fallen off the bed? Or has her bed ever been this uncomfortable?

Lucy cracked opened her eyes to the muffled sunlight and pulled her blanket down to the bridge of her nose. Her sight was foggy and blurred of sleep, but she still saw a distinct head of pink hair. Then a face. A guy face.

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WHY IS THERE A GUY SLEEPING IN HER BED WITH HER?

Lucy's eyes widened and sat up quickly. She looked all around her, trying to take in what happened and where she was. Her brown eyes squinted in the harsh sunrays and saw herself in Natsu's car still.

Oh right. Natsu. Last night. She sighed in relief and slumped back down into her seat, remembering everything that had happened. Ha, a guy in her bed. That would be crazy.

Lucy glanced over to the pink-haired man and still saw him snoozing away peacefully. One arm was behind his head and the other laying across his buff chest. He had steady breaths, making his hand and torso bob up and down every second or so.

She sighed and brought up her 'blanket', which ended up being a jacket, up to her face sleepily. It was all dry now, warm and fuzzy and soft. She cuddled it childishly, bringing her legs to her stomach again and just running her fingertips across the fabric.

She remembered that she didn't fall asleep with a jacket loosely on her. She only had the one Natsu had given her to put on, not one as a blanket. She looked over to said man, and saw him in only his white undershirt.

Lucy just smiled softly at his act. He was really too sweet for a klutz like her. She rubbed her eye and glanced around the car windows. The sun looked like it was just rising. She wondered what time it was, and if her landlady was awake yet. She would really like to go in her home now, get showered, changed, _fed_. Oh gosh was she hungry. She hasn't had a decent meal in days. But she still supposes that's her fault after all. Stupid Netflix.

Lucy saw neighbors and locals wander down the streets of her apartments and the river. She figured she could just ask someone what time it was. Her landlady usually woke up at around 10:00, and it seemed like it was about that time. She didn't want to start the car or anything to risk it being loud enough to wake Natsu. He probably needs the sleep from having to stay up all night for her, it's the least she could so considering all he's done for her.

Lucy quietly opened his door and stepped out to go ask someone for the time.

* * *

Natsu awoke to the sound of the door. He always had sharp hearing, everything was always sensitive to him. Sometimes it helped, other times it was just plain annoying. Like now.

He sighed at the harsh sunlight that now covered his face and cracked open his eyes one at a time. His sight was also blurred from sleep, but he did manage to see his passenger seat empty. Where was Lucy?

He sat up groggily, rubbing his eye and using the other to look around the empty car.

"Lucy?" He called out for her.

His eyes made his way to his window, there seeing Lucy speak to a woman about something. He sighed in relief she didn't leave already and leaned back into his seat. She smiled and waved to the woman, then started to make her way back to the car.

Lucy opened up the car door again, seeing Natsu still hadn't moved a lot from his spot. His bicep shielded his eyes from the sunlight as he layed motionless in his seat. She sat cross-legged in the seat, looking curiously at the man beside her. He shivered a bit and shifted his arm on tighter over his face.

'It must of been freezing last night.' Lucy thought, noticing his goose bumps that surrounded his skin.

Lucy took the jacket Natsu had given her while asleep and gently placed it across his chest, hoping to help him out somewhat. He gladly took the item, bringing it up to his face as he shifted away from her to snuggle up to it. He sighed in relief and mumbled a, "Thanks Luce.."

Lucy looked to him surprisingly, straightening her back and darting her eyes to his back.

"You're awake?" She asked him. How long was he awake?

Natsu just hummed, not even turning towards her way. He was never an early riser, even though he loves to go out and be active all the time.

"Well, my landlady should be coming out pretty soon, its 9:40 now." Lucy told him and fiddled with the ends of her shirt.

Natsu sighed and turned over to her, rubbing his eye and yawning. He sat up and leaned against his car door, like last night and opened his mouth to say something.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him; he put a finger up, signaling her to wait a second while he sat there frozen. His nose twitched before he let a out a soft sneeze. Then another.

Lucy frowned at this. Was he sick or something? He didn't look sick, maybe just a little tired but..

"You okay?" She asked him, leaning forward to study him better.

Natsu just nodded reassuringly to her worry and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I'm okay. So can you get in your house?" He asked curiously, finally waking up a bit.

"No, it shouldn't be too long though." She assured him.

Lucy looked out the window while Natsu nodded and yawned again. She saw the short woman, in her over-sized coat with her grayed hair pulled up into a tight bun. She turned her key in her apartment door, locking the wooden doors shut.

"There she is!" She beamed and ran out to go catch her.

Natsu just watched her silently and rubbed his nose again before sneezing. He shook his head to clear his clouded thoughts and looked back to Lucy. She was speaking to the old woman pleadingly and pointed back to her apartment. He saw the old woman yell at the blonde, making her step back a bit with fear. Her eyes were fierce and her mouth wide open shouting out how irresponsible she was.

The lady waved Lucy back to her apartment building, taking out her keys to shuffle through them angrily. Natsu figured that was his cue to go out and join the two, finally see if Lucy was allowed in her house now.

Natsu strolled out into the hot rays of sun, eyes squinting and his already tan skin getting even tanner. He went over to the girls, already seeing the elderly woman shove the key into the doors hole.

"Thank you so much." Lucy sighed in relief to her as she unlocked the door.

The lady only grunted and kicked open her door, a wrinkled frown clearly painted on her face. She never smiled much, Lucy found this out soon enough. She can't really recall a time she has ever seen her landlady with a smile, she wondered what it would look like, actually.

"Just don't lose your key again." She sneered at her and shoved her keychain in her pocket.

"Yes ma'am." Lucy smiled apologetically at her with a nod of her head.

Lucy watched nervously as her landlady left down the street, letting out a puff of air that had clouded up her lungs. She wiped her forehead with her forearm and turned back to Natsu from behind her. He just had a hand in his pocket while the other rubbed the outside of his nose, then returned to its pocket.

"Well, I guess I can get my car back now." She smiled softly to him and rubbed her arm with her hand.

Natsu sent another signature grin at her, his lips forming his usual lopsided grin with his sharp canines poking out. It took over his face, making his eyes seem smaller than they really were. That smile sure was something.

"That's good." He smiled at her and rubbed the back of his head leisurely.

Lucy just smiled back at him, her heart racing at his bright smile. He started to back up, sending a wave her way as his smile started to fault a bit.

"So..I guess I'll see you around." He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets again.

"Yeah.." Lucy exhaled out as he continued to back away.

Natsu gave a final wave of his hand and turned on his heel towards his car. Lucy just watched him soundlessly. Her hand gripped the metal doorknob, her shoulder leaning against the baby pink doorway with her eyes staring dreamily at his fleeting form. She suddenly stood up straight, choking on words that didn't come out fully and let go of her doorknob to reach out a hand in the air.

"Wait!" She suddenly yelled out to him.

Lucy found herself jogging towards him, seeing him stop walking from her call. He got about half-way around before feeling her soft lips against his cheek. She pulled away, a pink tint on her cheeks and a calm smile on the same lips he had just felt on his cheek.

"Thanks for everything Natsu, I couldn't of been more thankful you came around. If you ever need anything don't be afraid to ask me, okay?" Lucy smiled to him, tilting her head in a giddish way.

Natsu just stood there and stared at her dumbly. His mouth slightly open and eyes wide open, yet with a blank expression on his face. She backed away, her face still sort of flushed of embarrassment, but a smile still present on her pretty face.

"You know where to find me if you do!" She yelled to him, waving her hand in the air back and forth.

Natsu just stared at her incredulously as she went back to her apartment and closed the door gently. He fisted his hands in his pockets and slowly turned back to the direction of his car, his head lowered to the paved walkway below him. He gazed to the ground, thoughts rushing through his head all at once.

His cheek still burned hot, remembering her warm lips against it. He finally felt a pink blush make its way up from his neck to his face. He wiped his face on the shoulder shyly, trying to hide the delayed blush from no one in particular. He sighed, and strolled back to his car.

Lucy on the other hand, closed the wooden door behind her. She slid down the back of it, covering her mouth with her hand and stared mindlessly at the carpeted floor beneath her. She couldn't believe she just did that! And she was so calm during it all too! What _was_ that?

Despite her best efforts, Lucy couldn't help but just let out a fit of embarrassed giggles. She covered her face with both hands and shook her head back and forth, messing her hair up even worse.

She popped up from her doorway and fell straight onto her bed, gazing up to the bland ceiling dreamily. She sighed and rubbed her warm cheeks with the sleeve of Natsu's jacket, before falling into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

**Promises Never Kept~**

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Lucy awoke on another bright and sunny day. It's only been a few days since her little incident, but her sleep schedule was still off balance. She woke up in the morning exhausted and went to sleep at night fully energized, hence her not getting a lot of sleep.

She felt like dead weight in her bed, lifeless and typically hard to move, some days impossible. She wanted nothing but to just stay in bed all day and regain her energy, but that wouldn't help how messed up her schedule is already. She just needed to get up and act like it was a normal day.

Just needed to get up..

Need to get up..

Get up..

Up..

Before she even knew it, she was softly snoring away.

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Okay, let's try this again. Lucy awoke on the same bright and sunny day, yet she didn't know that. She groaned, rolling around in her fluffy bed and smothered her face with a plush dog toy. She really needed to get up now.

She tumbled out of her sheets and thumped to the floor. The best way to wake up in the morning. Her eyes finally opened and her muscles finally got a warm up when she pushed herself up to her feet.

Her stomach growled in gnawing hunger. She hasn't eaten yet today, wow was she hungry. But she also could use a shower...

Shower it is.

So, Lucy did her daily morning routine, getting showered and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, then went to her kitchen to make herself some breakfast. It's funny though, because as soon as she stepped foot onto the tile flooring, she remembered, 'hey! I still don't have any food!'

That's it, she was going shopping today. No excuses this time, she has her wallet and keys, now she's going to go to the store.

..but she's so hungry.

Okay, maybe she can get brunch with Levy, then go out shopping. Yeah, plus, you should never go shopping on an empty stomach. It's just a recipe for bankruptcy.

Lucy pulled out her phone and sent Levy a text for brunch in an hour or so. She already figured she would say yes, so she went to grab a jacket from her closet (and not the pathetic one that led her to be locked out of her car and house in the pouring rain).

Her phone buzzed with a bird chirp erupting from it also.

_Levy Mcgarden_

_Yeah sure, let's meet at Jets Cafe._

Lucy smiled at the text and walked out her door into the hot rays of the sunlight.

* * *

"Hey Levy." Lucy greeted her petite friend as she sat at an outside table at the cafe.

Lucy always liked coming to this cafe, it was just so sweet and adorable. It had a little French theme, tiny tables with tiny potted plants in the middle of it. Candles were strewn on some tables, others hanging alongside the building to light up the place dimly at night. It just had a nice atmosphere, a place you would love to stay forever at.

"Hey." She greeted back, looking up from her book with a pleasantly surprised expression on her pale face.

Lucy just sighed and plopped her bag onto the metal table, along with herself in a chair in front of her.

"You look beat, what's up?" Levy asked, taking a sip of her coffee mug as she stared at her droopy friend.

"Ah nothing, my sleep schedules just all outta whack." Lucy exhaled, rubbing any lingering sleep from her eyes with an occasional yawn.

"Why's that?" Levy questioned, raising an eyebrow unintentionally as she mindlessly continued to read the page of her book.

"It's a long story..." Lucy said, her words drifting away along with her eyes that gazed to the crowded street before them.

Levy looked back up to the blonde in suspicion of her tone, her brown eyes eyeing her every movement and feature. She saw her dazed her gleam in her eyes as they looked away from her and a light pink tint slightly appear on her cheekbones, almost unseeable to the naked eye. Almost.

"I have time...what's going on?" She asked in amused concern for her, placing her closed book on the metal table and leaning towards her for an answer.

Lucy finally glanced to her just to give a simple shake of her head, trying to relax their thoughts about the situation.

"Its nothing." She sighed, brushing a lock of hair out of her eye and crossing her legs.

"Did you kill someone?" Levy dead-panned, pursing her lips in an unamused way as if Lucy had just stolen a cookie from a jar.

Levy knew Lucy had quite a temper on things. Generally, Lucy was sweet and loveable. She always tried to make a person happy and was very patient with things, a lot like how her mother was. But there were times when her patience would run out, and even if those times were pretty rare, she could still have you running for the hills with pure fear in your eyes. She got quite violent, had a good kick that's for sure.

Levy remembered one time when she witnessed Lucy's fits of rage. It was when she found Loke hitting on a girl only a day or two after their first kiss. Okay, maybe he wasn't hitting on her, he simply bumped into her and the girl was in love since she first set eyes on him. Maybe it wasn't love at first sight, Levy might not know for sure but she thinks that girl was one of Loke's old 'playdates'. She didn't really know, but Lucy saw what she saw one way or another.

Maybe the chick was hitting on him, and he was only trying to make a smooth getaway, but Lucy would have none of it. She sort of lost it when she saw the chick plant a big one on him, making her rage and jealously boil out of her. Despite her appearance, Lucy easily did get jealous, one of her few flaws that Levy had found out when she witnessed her.

Lucy easily just went out there, gave the girl a good kick to her butt and a sharp yell to Loke about what all of that was about. Him being the suave man he is, calmed her down and explained what happened.

But boy could Levy see the fear behind his eyes and glasses the whole time. That girl would be sore for a few weeks.

"No!" Lucy denied, feeling offended by her accusation.

"Rob someone?" Levy tried again, still having a curious eyebrow raised as she guessed.

"No! I didn't commit a crime!" Lucy snapped at her with a huff, falling back into her seat and crossing her arms. She glared out to the street of people and sucked her teeth annoyingly.

Levy remained unfazed by Lucy's outburst. Unless she was serial killer mad, Lucy wasn't all that scary, much to her dismay. Levy sighed and put a finger to her chin, looking around the city for the new guess. What could have Lucy staying up late, an embarrassed blush, keep her in deep thoughts, and not have anything to do with her temper?

"Its a boy, isn't it?" Levy snapped her fingers and pointed an accusing finger to her way.

Lucy felt the heat rise to her cheeks by her words and lowered her head to her lap in a feeble attempt to hide it. She remained silent, but just the simple blush told Levy she was spot on.

"I knew it! Ohmigosh, tell me everything! Who is he? Is he cute? How'd you meet him? Ooo, wait what color are his-"

"Levy!" Lucy cried out to her in embarrassment, looking to her with bewilderment.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry, I'm just excited. It's about time you found someone else." Levy said honestly and leaned on her forearms on the table.

"It's not like that! He's just a nice guy I met, and I'm hungry. I'll be back in a few." Lucy said, quickly changing the subject and getting out of her chair.

"You're avoiding me, don't even try that!" Levy shouted to her as she walked away to go inside the shop.

Lucy just rolled her eyes at her comment and went to go buy herself a snack. The door dinged and the sound of people chatting and orders being yelled infiltrated her ears. The line wasn't long, it seemed she just missed the lunch rush by a few minutes luckily.

She ordered a simple glazed donut and a coffee, even though it was well over 80 degrees outside. But realistically, she could use all the caffeine she could get.

She carried the sweet treat in between a wax sleeve she was given and her coffee back outside where Levy was anxiously waiting. She sighed an 'okay' and sat down, letting herself get comfortable before she was pounded with questions from her petite friend.

"Okay, now talk." Levy demanded, shooting an eager glare into her eyes.

Lucy just shook off her attempt of a glare and rolled her eyes again, taking a bite out of her treat.

"Alright, alright. You know that night you kept trying to call me but I wouldn't answer?" She asked, still chewing her donut and crossed her ankles leisurely.

"Yes, I needed help with my story but you wouldn't take any of my calls!" Levy ranted at her, shooting another unaffected glare her way.

"Sorry, but that night I went out for a midnight snack at that little store up on Bradly street-"

"Wait, woah, woah. You mean that store with that creepy dude? And you went there at midnight? Are you crazy!?" Levy cut her off and sent her a 'are you stupid' look across the table.

"Okay! I know, it was a dumb idea, now let me talk!" Lucy nearly shouted at her, swallowing her bite of the sweet.

Levy just put her hands up in surrender and leaned back into her chair, giving an annoyed look to no one in particular.

Lucy sighed and leaned on the metal table, scooting her chair up closer to get under the overhang of the shop easier.

"I don't know, I ended up locked out of my car in the pouring rain and this guy came to help me." She spoke simply, giving a shrug of her arms to show the unimportance of the subject.

"So...what else?" Levy asked, expecting at least a little more to her story.

"That's kinda it. He gave me a ride back home but I was locked out of my house too so I stayed in his car till morning and my landlady let me in. I haven't seen him since." Lucy shrugged again, now taking a sip of her coffee mug.

"Aw, he sounds sweet. What's he like?" Levy giggled lightly and asked, looking to her dreamily.

"His name is Natsu and he has pink hair." Lucy laughed a bit nicely.

"Really?" Levy laughed a bit too, trying to imagine what a guy looked like with such a wild hair color.

"Yeah..its kinda suits him though.." Lucy shrugged, her eyes staring out to the street in a daze while her finger circled the coffee mug mindlessly.

Levy's lips slowly morphed into a grin as she stared at Lucy's reaction to the subject. She was so happy right now.

"You liiiike him!" She sang playfully, pointing an accusing finger at her.

Lucy snapped out of her trance and blushed heavily, keeping her eyes out to the street. She tried to push away the heat, but Levy still saw it.

"Whatever." She mumbled with a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You should go out with him!" Levy beamed in a whisper, leaning in closer to her as if Natsu was right there next to them.

"No Levy. I just met the guy, I haven't even seen him since then. I didn't get his number or anything. That was kinda it." Lucy sighed, shrugging one of her shoulders as she stared into her cup of coffee with a disappointed look.

Levy just rolled her dark eyes at her unenthusiastic mood and sent her a bright and cheery smile.

"Well you can't just give up! Come on Lucy, if he's your 'friend' then you gotta meet up with him sometime!" She motivated her with an obvious tone, using her words against her.

"Well what do you expect me to do? Track him down using my bloodhound?" Lucy asked her, giving her a victorious, yet sorrowful look with sarcasm in her tone.

Levy let out a defeated sigh and sunk back into her chair, now noticing how she had been inching closer with enthusiasm every time she spoke. Her small head hit the back of the metal design in the chair and she let out a groan.

"How could you not get his number..?" She sighed, forming a cute pout on her lips.

Lucy did the same, letting her blonde head hit the rim of the metal chair as she gazed up to the cloudless sky. Her lips let out a similar sigh, actually wishing she had did what Levy was complaining about now.

"I know right?"

* * *

**Yay, new chapter! Thanks for reading everyone, I appreciate all the sweet responses! Remember to review and follow...and favorite! Just everything, I guess! :p**


	5. Samuel's Spices

**Promises Never Kept**

**Chapter 5**

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Well, she was finally doing it. She was going shopping for once in the past two weeks. The air was cooler and the scent of fresh fruits infiltrated her nose as she walked into the grocery store. It looked crowded, mostly around the checkout lines and the sweets section, but it wasn't packed. That would help a bit. It was quite unusual for her, she came without a list or anything. Naturally, she would be organized and plan before coming here so she would shop correctly; her stomach full and her account organized to tell her how much she SHOULD spend here. She got a pretty good paycheck if she could say herself. She gets paid by her book royalties, which was very rewarding in its own way. She was taking a little break now that she had finished her first book, but she always likes to keep having ideas run off her brain.

Lucy sighed and swung her basket around in her hand, reading the isle signs for anything she might want. Her steps were slow and clicked on the tile flooring, just strolling around the market aimlessly. She turned on her heel up and down each section, gathering stuff she knows she'll want, like cereal, coffee, pasta, frozen Italian dinners that she saw on her TV that just made her jaw drop. She never really was a great cook, maybe because she's never really cooked seriously in her life before but either way, she wasn't exactly planning on doing that anytime soon.

Lucy's eyes kept passing by each isle and just read the sign for its contents. It was bad to go up and down each isle and just pick out what you want from the entire store, that's murder suicide for you and your banking account. She continued to stroll past random sections, swaying her partily filled basket like a child and her doll. Her eyes caught a small glimpse of pink out from the corner of her eye, causing her to halt in between two sections. She backed up, looking over to see the same guy she had just been talking about earlier with Levy.

She can't really believe she wouldn't of remembered a guy with such a hair color, so vibrant and not exactly one you see every day. But then again, she doesn't really remember anyone she hasn't officially met before. Like if she had never of met Natsu that day, she would of probably walked right on by him without a care in the world. He would of just of been another face in the crowd to her.

Lucy often wondered how many times her and Natsu could of crossed paths once before, but never of actually acknowledged each other. Maybe he was a guy she bumped into one day, or he helped her once before when she dropped something. The possibilities were endless really.

She turned fully to look at him, seeing his frazzled hair that spiked up in all directions, his baggy sweatpants and regular shirt. He looked like he didn't exactly plan on leaving the house today, considering his slumped stance as he leisurely took out a box to look at with his other hand in his pocket.

Lucy smiled a bit and walked up behind him silently, still noticing how he hasn't acknowledged her presence. She bent forward into his line of view, holding her basket on her back with her hands and gave him a friendly smile.

"Natsu?" She called out to him, finally seeing him notice her.

Natsu looked away from the box he was holding to see her bright smile right next to him. He was surprised to see her here and how she came to find him.

"Lucy?" He questioned, clearing his throat.

Lucy slowly began to lose her smile and stood up straight. Her eyes noticed how pale his usual tan complexion was, how his nose looking slightly red compared to the rest of his face. And not to mention how muffled his voice came out, causing him to clear away anything in his throat.

"Are you okay? You look pretty...down." She observed, arching her eyebrows in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shrugged, sniffing loudly.

"Are you sure?" She asked again, not convinced by his act of reassurance.

Her eyes went down to the box he was holding in his hand, and tilted her head to read the label that was printed on it.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He still continued to assure her, even if she wasn't listening at the moment.

Lucy's eyes widened a slight bit and looked back up to him sympathetically. Her eyes captured all his symptoms again and felt her expression sink into a guiltly despaired look.

"You're sick..aren't you?" She asked, boring her guiltied eyes into his as he sighed.

He just shrugged to show her the unimportance of his state, hoping she wouldn't do what she was about to do.

"..because of all that rain you were stuck in.." She realized as she glanced down to the box of medicine he held in his hand.

"Oh Natsu, I'm sorry." She pleaded to him gently, still looking to him with a look that made _him_ feel guilty.

"Its fine, Lucy." He chuckled a bit to her, seeing how her sympathy wasn't exactly needed at the moment.

"Do you have anyone to take care of you? I mean.." She drifted off purposely, looking to him for an answer.

"I don't really wanna bug anyone, it's just a fever. It'll go away in a day or two." He told her, really hoping she would just drop the matter.

Lucy's entire expression changed in a matter of milliseconds. That once guilty and sorrowful look in her eyes was left behind in the dust, now uncovering her doubtful and stubborn expression, along with her hands that were now on her hips.

"Well, if you don't even have Nyquil at your house you're not going to get better any time soon." She admonished him as he placed the box back on the shelf in defeat.

Before Natsu even knew it, his wrist was snagged by her hand and was being dragged towards the stores automatic doors, Lucy chattering the whole way.

"I'll take care of you at my house, it's my fault you got sick so I should be the one to help you get better! I mean-"

"Lucy! You have to pay for those!" Natsu yelled at her in a hushed whisper as he pulled her back from alarming the doors to the store.

Lucy blinked at Natsu's remark and gazed down to the grocery-filled basket she still kept in her hand. Her cheeks flared up in embarrassment that she almost stole a basketful of food. She probably would of been a stuttering mess if Natsu hadn't started talking before her.

"Look Lucy, I can take care of myself. I chose to help you out that night so it's no big deal." He shrugged at her, giving a smirk at her obvious embarrassment.

She looked up to him backing out the doors of the store, a smile still present on his face.

"I'll see you around, okay?" He said, giving a slight wave with his usual grin that somehow wasn't as bright as she had seen before.

Lucy just stared at his fleeting form, his back now turned to her and her hands down laying down by her side's awkwardly.

_You should go out with him!_

Levy's words still remained in her mind, repeating constantly as a reminder to not let a chance slip away. She knew she shouldn't let it slip away, but her musting up the courage to do so was another story.

"Wait!" She yelled out to him suddenly.

Natsu stopped walking and turned back to her, looking curiously at what she wanted. He saw her already staring at him with shock, as if she was surprised she yelled that out herself. She blinked and felt panic stir within her, standing up straight with a vibrant blush that crossed her face.

"U-Um..w-when can I see you again..?" She asked nervously, trying not to let that show through her voice.

Natsu looked on to her pleasantly surprised and opened his mouth to reply, but that only seemed to freak her out more.

"I-I mean if you wanted too...I was just.." She drifted off shyly, looking away towards the ground and held her arm with her hand sheepishly.

Lucy hadn't really done something like this before, hence why she looked like a blushing schoolgirl at this moment. With Loke, usually he was the one to always ask her out and try to set up plans, she never really got a chance too before. It was all kind of new to her.

Natsu just smiled at how she looked, finding her embarrassment both amusing and cute.

"How about Saturday?" He asked simply.

Lucy looked up from the ground in shock, darting her brown eyes towards him quickly. He, sure enough, was giving his signature grin that made her stomach flop with his hands lazily in his pockets again. She remained silent though.

He just shrugged at the idea and strolled closer to her, a playful, yet sweet grin still lingering on his lips.

"We could catch a movie or something." He finished, looking towards her with a gentle expression.

Lucy blushed bashfully and felt a small smile tug at her lips.

"Y-Yeah, that sounds nice." She said softly.

Natsu nodded with a grin and began backing away again.

"Great. I'll pick you up at 6 okay?" He said, still looking at her expectantly for a reassuring answer.

Lucy just nodded dumbly, feeling as if her heart were to explode out of her chest. Her hand still clutched the basket full of food tightly as she tried to confirm what had just happened.

"Alright. Bye Lucy." He waved, before turning back to walk to his car again.

Lucy just watched his fleeting form again and felt herself fall onto an empty checkout counter, her heart soaring in flight and her thoughts in a mess.

She had a date with Natsu. _Natsu_. She was going out with him! A giant smile found its way onto her lips as she rested her head against the pole that held the sign for the counter. She honestly could _not_ believe that _just_ happened! A giddish laugh erupted from her throat, squeezing her eyes shut embarrassedly.

"Are you trying to steal those?" A cashier woman asked, raising a pierced eyebrow as she looked at her weirdly.

Lucy just gazed to her joyously and giggled again, "I have a date with Natsu!"

The lady continued to stare at her like she was crazy and nodded slowly.

"That's good..."

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"Can you pay for that now?"

* * *

**Promises Never Kept**

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Lucy sighed as she glanced in her mirror, pulling out a strand of hair and placed it with her other strands with her bangs. She was struggling with her hair choice, even if it was already up in a high ponytail. She knew she was only going to a movie theater, but she still wanted to look nice for him.

She looked down to her outfit wondrously. Was it too casual? Should it be nicer, more formal? She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a simple V-neck shirt with sneakers. Classic everyday look, he didn't exactly say what to dress up as so it should okay, right? This was Natsu, he wasn't exactly one to care much on appearances. At least he looked like he wouldn't be one too.

Lucy just sighed and glanced to the clock. 5:45. She still had 15 minutes till the..date. Lucy sat down, still wracking her brain over something that she had thought of a while ago. Was this whole night, _really_ a date? Of course, she had assumed that back at the store, but was it really? Natsu could of only meant it as a friendly outing or something.

If it _was_ a date, she could have full privileges to do..dateish things. Like flirting and girlish 'touches', but if it's _not_ a date...she could actually be a bit more herself than someone she's not. And its not as if she _wanted_ to flirt with him or anything crazy like that, its just a dateish factor.

Sheesh, this isn't rocket science! Why was she over thinking so much like it was? Does it really matter though if it was a date or not?

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Great, now she's confused on that too!

Lucy groaned obnoxiously of irritation and fell onto her bed, smothering her face into a pillow. Knocking on her door dragged her away from her thoughts thankfully, making her shoot up from her bed. She doesn't have time to contemplate the meaning of all of this, it doesn't matter. _It doesn't matter_. As long as she has fun, right? That's the most important thing, she doesn't have to move so fast with everything.

Lucy opened up her peach door, letting the dim sunlight flood into her apartment as the sun set blissfully. She saw Natsu, leaning casually against the wall beside her door with a dazed look in his eyes. He stared up to the bright sun momentarily, then looked over to her, offering a grin. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, simple and casual. Good Lucy, you didn't mess up.

"Hey Lucy." He greeted, pushing himself off the wall with his shoulders and turned to her.

"Hey." Lucy greeted back, closing the door behind her and locking it securely.

"Ready to go?" He asked, nodding his head towards the town across the river that dazzled with lights.

"Yeah." She smiled at him and jogged up beside him to start walking together.

Lucy and Natsu strolled side by side down her street that was dimly lit with streetlamps. The air was beginning to become cooler as the sun dipped beyond the horizon and the shops were beginning to become brighter as they switched on their nightly lights.

"So, did you ever get your car back?" Natsu asked jokingly to break the pleasant silence.

Lucy laughed lightly at his question, trying to relax herself from overreacting.

"Yeah, I had to get a guy to break into my car just to get my keys." She told him with a sigh.

Natsu just laughed to the paved ground and shook his head is a disbelieving manner.

"How do you lock your keys in your car?" He sighed, gazing out to the paved road beyond him.

"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't the first time?" She giggled to him, slightly covering her mouth in a sheepish manner with her hand.

The two just laughed harder at her question and continued their stroll into town. Crossing over the curved bridge that connected the two lands that were separated from the river, the two entered the lively city where people scoured happily.

A comfortable silence filled in between the two as their eyes took in the surrounded places. People ate outside and some others played lively tunes on personally owned instruments with their hats or cases eagerly taking in money that was given to them.

"So, where are you taking me?" Lucy asked, looking over to him curiously.

Natsu seemed to perk up at her question, as if remembering where they were actually headed.

"Oh! On my way here I got a little hungry so I thought we'd go eat first!" He beamed, giving that same old grin that always got under her skin.

Lucy just shook off the fluttery in her stomach and smiled back at him warmly.

"Okay, where to?" She asked as they continued to walk down the crowded streets.

"Its just a small place up here, come on!" He cheered eagerly.

Before Lucy even knew it, her hand was snagged by his and she was being dragged halfway across Magnolia, him laughing the whole way.

"Natsu! Wait up!" Lucy cried out as she stumbled to keep up with him.

Natsu just laughed and continued to drag her down the street. He passed by and swerved in between vendors and pedestrians that fortunately could move out of his way before being toppled over. His favorite shop came into his view and he automatically slid to a stop right in front of it.

Lucy abruptly stopped too, crashing right into his back gently. Her free hand clenched his shirt to keep herself from falling over backwards and caught herself.

"Ow Natsu..." She mumbled, gazing over his shoulder to see where he had just dragged her too.

"Sorry Lucy." Natsu laughed, glancing to her over his shoulder with a grin.

She just exhaled a smile at his barbaric nature with a slight giggle and glanced up to the sign of the shop.

"Samuel's Spices." She read off the bright and fiery sign that loomed above her.

"Yeah! The best place in Magnolia!" Natsu cheered as he continued to drag her into the small restaurant with her hand.

Lucy entered the restaurant and felt the scent of sharp and spicy spices burn its way up her nose. She supposes she could of assumed that would happen, considering that the sign outside had a chili pepper as an apostrophe and the rest of it was on fire, but hey, you should never judge a book by its cover.

"A place for spicy stuff?" She questioned him, still looking over his shoulder as if something scary was before them.

"Yeah, it's great." Natsu complemented and began to lead her to an empty booth for them to sit in.

The place wasn't crowded, only a few other people were scattered around the shop sitting at other booths. The tables were a bright yellow and the chairs were a dark brown that accompanied them. The walls were a fiery red with a spotless white border around it, really fitting the theme of the place.

Lucy let Natsu lead her to a place to sit down and noticed a waiter already headed their way. She finally noticed that her hand was still holding onto Natsu's and felt a light blush crawl up to her cheeks. His hand was warm and comforting, something she enjoyed feeling. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone. Ever.

Natsu finally let go of Lucy to sit across from her in the booth, letting the cool air aid it instead. A small waitress bounced over and gave a bubbly smile to the two.

"Hello, welcome to Samuels Spices! What can I get for you two?" She asked kindly, preparing to write down their orders on a notepad.

Lucy just stared at her menu that sat in front of her hesitantly. It's not that she didn't like spicy foods, but could someone make an entire restaurant for them? What was this 'Samuel' thinking on planning here?

By the time she knocked herself out of her thoughts, Natsu had already ordered himself a plateful of hot wings with different spices. Lucy wasn't even that hungry, so she decided to not spend so much and just order a drink.

"You not hungry?" Natsu asked curiously as he looked to her wondrously.

"I'm average, I'll survive." She smiled to him and saw their drinks be placed in front of them.

Natsu just smiled lightly and sipped on his straw.

"Well, if you decide you are, I'll be nice and share." He joked to her with a grin.

Lucy laughed a bit and nodded her head slightly.

"I'd like that." She giggled.

Before too long, the waitress came out with a steaming plate of hot wings and placed it between the two. Without any warning, right in to help himself as Lucy tried not to get in the mix.

She couldn't but laugh and gape at him simultaneously, amazed at him. He sure wasn't one to act like anyone but himself for another's courtesy. She could easily tell, this was him being 100% himself. And she kind of liked that. He wasn't hiding anything, he didn't exactly care of what by standing people thought of him. If you didn't except him, too bad for you. Your loss.

Natsu had noticed her giggling, already halfway through the plate. He stopped, curious at what was so funny and looked at her weirdly.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head and arching his eyebrows.

Lucy just shook her head at him and pulled out a napkin from the dispenser next to her.

"It's nothing." She giggled, handing him a napkin to clear off all the hot sauce from his face.

Natsu just shrugged her off with a smile of his own and used the napkin she had offered. He cleared his throat and leaned on the table with his forearms.

"Wanna try one?" He asked, raising a challenging eyebrow at her as he glanced up and down at her.

Lucy just pursed her lips doubtfully, staring at the plate. It was separated into three different sections, one part having some wings that were smothered in a vibrant orange sauce, another in a duller orange and the last looking normal. Natsu seemed like he could handle these with ease, how hot could they be?

"I don't know...how hot are they?" She asked nervously, feeling hesitant about trying something that could well burn her mouth off.

"They're fine, just try one." Natsu assured her, rolling his eyes at how nervous she was about it.

"Alright...which one?" She asked, looking up to him for an answer.

Natsu just shrugged and nodded towards the place, visually telling her to pick one and see if she liked it.

Lucy sighed at his suspicious act and hesitantly picked out the vibrant orange one, the one she suspected to be the hottest. Not even two seconds after she bit into it her eyes started to water and her mouth felt as if she had even fire.

"Ogh my gogsh.." She said with her mouth full as she fanned herself with her hand.

Natsu just laughed as she hurriedly plucked out a napkin and spit the piece into it, refraining from burning her mouth any longer. She blinked back her tears and took a long drag of a sip from her drink to hopefully cool down her mouth.

Lucy gulped her sip and let out a relieved laugh, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"How can you stand that! That is..." She shook her head, drifting off with a speechless laugh.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" Natsu argued gently.

"Yes it is! I couldn't even eat that!" Lucy argued back, pointing to her crumpled napkin to prove her point.

"Oh whatever, you're just wimpy." Natsu finalized, looking to her smugly.

"I am not!" Lucy denied to him.

Natsu just smirked at her challengingly and pushed the plate closer to her.

"Fine, try another one then." He said, expecting her to reject massively.

"Fine!" She agreed, looking to him winningly.

Lucy looked down to the plate again, studying its contents. She knew she would _definitely_ draw away from the right side, so left it is. She picked up the normal looking wing and hesitantly took a bite out of it.

She chewed slowly, sensing that she could actually keep this one in her mouth this time.

"See, this one is alright." She said to him, swallowing the bite and taking another.

"That one shouldn't even be called a hot wing! You chose the dullest one!" Natsu huffed disapprovingly.

"Well you seemed to like them alright when you were scarfing them down like you hadn't eaten in a year two minutes ago." Lucy shot back, taking a small bite with a smug smile.

Natsu just rolled his eyes and couldn't help a grin on his face. He had a big appetite, so what?

"Ready to go?" He asked after a minute when she finished her wing, paying the waitress for their dinner.

Lucy hummed in agreement cheerfully and slid out from her side of the booth. The two made their way out from the restaurant and into the cool night breeze. And to think, this was just the beginning of their...date. Outing. Whatever.

* * *

**I know, the ending might seem played out but its not, I just didn't know what to call it. XD Thanks for reading everyone, Im so happy at how many responses I got on only the fourth chapter! Remember to review and all that!**

**OMG IM SO MAD! Spoilers ahead from new chapter of FT:**

**okay so there are Devil Slayers now?! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW LONG IVE BEEN WORKING ON A NEW SLAYER TYPE FOR ONE OF MY STORIES THAT IS ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE THAT? You wanna know my version? **

**I came up with a new one called Soul Slayers, and my Souls are supposed to be ancient mages or gods that have died and were sent to the underworld as spirits. Once sent there they have gained their true powers and try to come back to earth to fully revive themselves. Except they come back as giant monsters that haven't been seen in centuries. **

**NOW DO YOU SEE WHY IM MAD? AND HAPPY? ugh I just don't know anymore... I came up with an attack and everything too like Heavens Soul Scream or some crap like that.**

**Whatever, just review alright? I could really use it right now...**


	6. Mama

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 6**

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"So, which movie do you wanna see?" Natsu asked as they both looked up to the movie theater.

The place dazzled in flickering lights and newly released movies scrolled up and down the marquee sign that also held the name of it. People were crowded the concession stands and ticket booths, standing in small lines and some roaming with their hands full of goodies and treats. The outside walls were covered with streaming movies along with their cover photo plastered to the wall.

"I don't know, I've seen a lot of these already." Lucy said slyly, mocking him a bit as she stared up to the marquee.

"Go out alot?" Natsu asked, turning his head to look at her suspiciously.

Lucy just shrugged and jammed her hands in her coat pockets, a small smile playing on her lips.  
"Not really. I do pay 8 bucks a month for Netflix though." She mused, her eyes still scouring the different movies.

Natsu laughed a bit at her and did the same, eyes looking to all the new movies as people passed them to go buy a ticket.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find a movie that's not on there." He sighed, smiling a bit too.

Lucy just giggled at his challenge, that was too funny.

"Good luck with that." She challenged him.

"Hmm...what about...Elysium?" He asked, looking to her for an answer.

"Seen it. It was pretty good." Lucy shrugged.

"How about...Percy Jackson?" He tried again.

"Seen it." Lucy sang, showing off how amused she was getting with this.

"We're the Miller's?"

"Seen it."

"The Butler?"

"Yep. Oprahs good in it."

"Scary Movie 5?"

"Hilarious."

"Seriously come on, um...Face Off?

"Mhmm."

"OH MY GOD! PLANES?!"

"LIKE I'M GOING TO SEE THAT!"

Lucy just laughed as Natsu groaned into his hands and ran a hand through her hair. She stretched her arms above her head and sighed victoriously.

"You really should get out more if you've seen all of those." Natsu sighed at her and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I know. But that's what you're here for, right?" Lucy asked him mockingly as she spun around leisurely, a smile still present on her face.

"I guess so." Natsu rolled his eyes playfully and looked back up to the marquee.

His dark eyes read all the movies that were playing and felt a grin tug at his face.

"Oh! What about Mama?" He asked eagerly, remembering the trailers he had seen on TV earlier.

"Mama? I've never seen that." Lucy said, coming back over by him to look at the cover picture.

"Great! We can see that!" Natsu cheered, pumping a fist into the air excitedly.

"I don't know..." Lucy drifted off as her eyes soaked in the cover picture.

The picture itself looked scary enough. That one child that looked like it had just gotten mauled by a bear opening up a door that looked like it just got mauled by a bear..she never really was a fan of scary movies. Especially in movie theaters, where the screen was 20X as big and the sound was 20X as loud, it didn't mix well for a pop-out and scare the living crap out of you type of movie.

"Oh come on, it won't be so bad. Let's go." Natsu encouraged her gently, grabbing her hand to pull her towards the ticket booth.

Lucy just nodded dumbly and blushed like an idiot, letting herself be pulled in by him. How could one guy own so many weaknesses against her? This will be the death of her before she even knows it.

The two bought their tickets and made their way into the dimmed movie theater where commercials still played. It was pretty packed, but they still managed to find two empty seats in the upper section next to the wall.

Lucy followed Natsu's trail and made her way into her seat, peacefully and carefully tripping over other people's feet. She sighed and felt uneasiness stir within her stomach.

"I can't believe your making me watch this." She huffed lightly, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"What? Don't like scary movies?" Natsu mocked, raising an eyebrow at her from the seat next to her.

"Not particularly." Lucy sighed and fumbled with the shreds of her jean shorts at the hem.

"It'll be okay, it's just a movie." Natsu reassured her and shifted in his seat comfortably.

Lucy just exhaled a breath and sunk into her chair, feeling that churning feeling in her stomach speed up as the lights dimmed out.  
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. In and out. In and out. Okay, she seriously needed to relax, this was ridiculous. Maybe she was a little abnormally scared of horror movies because she caught a glance of her parents watching one when she was little. She was supposed to be in bed but she couldn't fall asleep and went to her living room for her parents. Well, they weren't exactly watching a scary movie, it was Scary Movie 2, the funny kind. Either way, the 'giant green monster' creepily rolling up the guy and lighting him on fire wasn't too healthy for a girl her age to witness.

I think it's safe to say she was a bit traumatized, a work in progress with Levy. She had tried getting her to watch a scary movie with her occasionally, just wanting to show her that scary movies aren't that bad. It's not like she hasn't watched a horror movie since then, she can handle the ones with gore and guts, in fact, she favored those. But the ones with creepy little girls popping up and screaming their freaking heads off from under beds...yeah, no. Just...no.

Lucy watched pretty soundly through the first part of the movie, it wasn't pretty bad so far. Until the surprising car crash, that's when she felt the heart in her throat release a small shriek before she cut herself. She heard Natsu laughing a bit at her and ruffle her hair reassuringly, telling her to relax. Her cheeks warmed up a bit of embarrassment and sunk into her chair again, bringing her knees up to her chest. This would be a long movie.

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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Well, at the end of it all Lucy did manage to damage her pride a quite bit more than she had wanted or planned. Maybe it was due to the fact she was hiding most her face in her knees during most of it or when she was the loudest one to scream among all the other people in the theater. She felt pretty embarrassed afterwards and smacked Natsu's arm for him laughing at her the entire time, letting her head fall to it with a sheepish smile.  
Most of the rest of the movie Natsu had let her keep her iron grip of nervousness clenched onto his arm with her head rested on it also. He figured it was the least he could do, making her come see the movie against her will anyways.

Lucy had never felt so relieved to see credits roll up the screen in her life. She could finally breath, her heart could revert to having 72 beats per minute instead of twice that, and she could stop holding onto Natsu for dear life. Now she would just have to deal with the teasings she was sure to get once they left the theater.

The theater poured out with laughing and chatting people from seeing Mama and emptied to the cool night breeze at around 9:00. Natsu and Lucy gently pushed their way through the crowd and once again started their way down the street that was slowly beginning to lose people as the late night began.

"So are you okay now?" Natsu joked gleefully as he poured some Crunch bites into his hand from the box.

Lucy just sighed and rolled her eyes, glaring at him playfully as he ate his candy mockfully.

"Yes, I'm fine." She insisted in a stern tone.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty scared back there." Natsu continued on, his smile growing bigger as her expressions became more irritated.

"Like you're one to talk, you practically jumped 10 feet in the air in the cabin scene." Lucy shot back with a victorious grin on her lips.

"At least I wasn't screaming so loud everyone looked at us like we were crazy!" Natsu laughed at her as she flushed in embarrassment.

"I'm just not good with horror movies, okay!" Lucy defended with a huff and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Oh what? Don't like gory stuff?" Natsu asked as they continued to stroll down the paved streets.

"No, I can handle blood and guts, just not creepy little girls that look like they haven't seen sunlight in 12 years with scraggly hair and yellow teeth!" Lucy ranted, practically describing every horror movie ever.

"Okay, next time we can watch Saw instead. Good?" Natsu asked with his usual grin as he gazed down to her.

"Yes, that'd be good." Lucy nodded in approval, keeping her arms crossed.

Natsu just shook his head at her with a laugh and leisurely put an arm over her shoulders, still snacking on his bites. She really was something, a bit weird and stubborn and wasn't a fan of spicy foods. He never really expected to become friends with someone who was so unlike him, they were practically opposites, yet they loved each other's company. She was fun to be around and funny to watch. Clumsy and dramatic, generally a klutz who can barely go a day without locking herself out of some sort of shelter. She was intriguing, she wasn't like alot of other people he had met. He felt this unnatural urge to get to know her more, simply because he knew she would surprise him with another trait of hers. Another weird trait.

"You're such a weirdo." He commented as they strolled across the curved bridge once again.

"Am not. It's you who is weird." Lucy calmly shot back, keeping her head high.

Natsu just laughed at her nature and ate another small bite, offering some to her too.

"Nah, it's just you." He shrugged, scrunching up his nose momentarily with a smile.

Lucy just glared up to him again, yet couldn't help but smile at his infamous grin. She giggled a bit and ate one of his candies, turning her head back to hide the warm blush she's sure she has right now.

* * *

Lucy and Natsu took their sweet time returning to her apartment and just bantered the rest of the way. That was another thing Natsu really liked about her; her reaction to the most simplistic insults was hilarious. She really just made it too much fun for him, all the expressions he had yet to see on her was practically endless.

"Thanks for the great night, Natsu." Lucy smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a brief hug.

"It's no problem." Natsu replied, patting her back before feeling her let go again.

"You know, I heard that carnival was coming to town next week. Would you like to accompany me to it?" Lucy asked hopefully, giving him a cute smile as she swayed back and forth.

Natsu couldn't help but smile at her, finding her effort to make him say yes pretty adorable, which what was she was going for.

"Sure, that'd be cool." He replied with a grin.

"How about Thursday?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow at him mischievously.

"Yeah, at 6?" He asked, starting to back away from her apartment.

"Yeah, sounds good." Lucy said as her head peeked out from her doorway, still giving a joyous smile.

"Alright. I'll see you then." Natsu waved, sending a final signature grin before going on his way again.

"Bye."

Lucy closed her door shut after herself and leaned against the back of it, sighing loudly.

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So, it wasn't a date? Or was it? Ah crap.

* * *

**Yeah, I know short chapter, im sowy. But the next one will be long, promise. :) Thanks for reading and review please! I love love love reviews so do so!**

**Ugh, I seriously couldn't decide on what movie to pick, I just decided on Mama cause I had finished watching Scary Movie 5 and I loved it XD**

**I haven't even seen Mama so I didn't know what to put for the whole seen...plus that little 'traumatized' part was a true story. That happened to me, I was so friggin freaked out man I had nightmares for a month! I refused to watch any "Scary Movies' since then, Im 14 now and my dad pleaded me to watch one. Now im hooked XD**


	7. Uncontrollable Laughing

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 7**

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The sun was just beginning to set once again, creating rays of bright colors to brighten up the sky one last time for the day. Natsu strolled down the riverside, half-mindedly gazing at the reflecting waters that gleamed like a newly washed window. Now he gets why so many people live on Lucy's street; the view here was incredible. He wouldn't mind waking up to that sight every day.

Natsu saw her peach colored apartment come into view among the other neighboring buildings right next to hers. He briskly walked there and knocked a few times on her door, now noticing how she doesn't have a doorbell. He heard shuffling inside, probably Lucy finishing up getting ready. He silently exhaled and leaned against the wall next to her door, letting his eyes take in the view once again. He saw the sun get lower and lower, leaving smaller amounts of light each second. He saw the new carnival attractions begin to light up, the giant Ferris wheel had sparkles on each seat, all the games and stands were dazzling with flickering lights and he could hear people laughing and talking from a mile away. He had noticed on his way here that some people going to the festival were wearing costumes, the majority being children, but he wondered if he shouldn't done something in that category. It wasn't even that close to Halloween, but hey, if people wanted to dress up, who was he to stop them? He just shrugged off the thought, it was too late now, and its not like he has a costume or anyways.

"Hey Natsu." Lucy's voice said suddenly.

He turned and saw her standing next to him with her usual smile. The door already closed and locked and her ready to go. He didn't even notice her opening the door. He returned the gesture, giving his signature grin at her as he pushed himself off the wall again.

"Hey Lucy. All set?" He asked rhetorically, considering they were already starting to walk down the street.

Lucy didn't seem to think about the whole costume thing either, she was wearing a loose black skirt and a white blouse on top of that. It wasn't anything special or glamorous, which he kind of liked. He didn't really understand why girls always seemed to dress up for normal occasions. He can get they want to look nice or whatever, but to over-do it? That just didn't sit well with him.

"Yep." Lucy answered, now strolling next to him towards the bridge that connected the two parts of town.

The two entered mid-town, trying not to laugh over almost being knocked over by running children and all the exciting cites around. Dunk tanks, shooting games, strength testers, everything was here. Clowns in rainbow suits were passing out balloon animals to children and others were on tricycles trying to make them laugh. The sun was completely down now, letting the bright lights of the festival shine to their highest potential. It really was an amazing site to be at.

"Hey Natsu, wanna do that one?" Lucy asked him, tugging on his sleeve to catch his attention.

He turned to her, seeing her eager smile and followed her outstretched finger towards a shooting booth. It was being watched over by a lady in cowboy clothes and an obvious green wig under a cowboy hat. She was pale and had bright red lips to match her bright smile as she handed out stuffed animals to winners.

Natsu nodded, smiling back and led her towards the booth, catching the woman's attention.  
"Howdy guys! Like a turn?" The woman bellowed, expertly spinning a toy shot gun in her hand.

"Yeah, two please!" Lucy said to her, trying to raise her voice over the others behind her.

"Alright! Two tickets!" She beamed and handed over the guns, while Natsu gave her the tickets.

Natsu readied the gun, peering into the old-fashioned scope momentarily. His gaze went upward, scouring the giant stuffed animals that were dangling on a wire above him. He grinned when he saw a red dragon, as if it were just waiting for him.  
He got 7 shots, and shot 6 targets. Two ducks, two bullseye, and two birds that were rotating in a circle quickly. He sighed with a smile and handed back the gun to the cowgirl.

"Nice job." Lucy complemented, holding her gun unintentionally possessive.

"Thanks. You're turn." Natsu spoke, turning to her, curious of her skills.

He didn't mean to sound rude or anything, but he kind of doubts she'll do good. He doesn't really think the little blonde has ever held a gun before, she actually seemed like one of those anti-violent girls who went out with signs.

So that was why he was utterly stunned. She got 7 out of 7, all the targets hit without a miss. He silently gawked with wide eyes as she won one of the giant stuffed animals on the top shelf, her cheering the whole time.

"Hey Natsu, which one should we get?" She asked, knocking him out of his shocked trance.

He blinked and looked up to her, then up to the prizes. It was obvious which one he wanted.

"I like the dragon." He grinned mischievously at her and crossed his arms.

"The dragon?" She questioned, her brown eyes gazing up to its location.

She giggled a bit at his choice and nodded, asking the cowgirl for that one. She got down their prize and handed it to Natsu, waving goodbye to them as they were on their way again.

"How do you know how to shoot?" Natsu asked her, disbelief still hinting in-between his words.

Lucy giggled and shrugged her shoulders lazily, breathing in the exciting atmosphere.

"I dunno, my dad taught me when I was little. I can't really believe I still remember that stuff myself." She answered easily.

Natsu snorted playfully and turned his gaze away from her.

"Then I guess this is for you then." He said with a sigh, shoving the giant dragon into her arms.

Lucy unintentionally took the animal, wrapping her arms around it. The thing was really giant, it was about the size of her torso, yet it was pretty light. She gave a wicked smile towards his attitude and laughed.

"Aw Natsu, did I damage your manliness? If it makes you feel better, I'm sure that game was rigged anyways." Lucy teased him, jumping in front of him to catch his gaze.

He just turned his head away from her again with a snort and felt her poke his cheek with a giggle. She hugged the dragon and walked backwards, still waiting for him to get over himself.

"Thanks for the dragon, though." She said after a moment, her teasing smile turning into a serene one as she backed up to his side again.

Natsu just sighed and turned back to her with a soft grin. He laughed a bit as she hid half her face with the dragons head, and continued their stroll through town.

"Good, I was hoping it didn't have to escalade down to my surprise to cheer you up." Lucy said cheekily at him.

"What surprise?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucy didn't answer and went straight to her purse, digging through it excitedly. She pulled out what seemed to be headbands, but he wasn't sure in the dim light.

"Bunny or cat?" She asked, holding up two costume headbands with bunny ears and cat ears.

Natsu just stared at her with a weird look, making her laugh and shake her hands.

"Pick one! We can't be the only people here without some sort of costume." She insisted, pushing the two in his face.

"Neither." Natsu said boredly and began walking again.

"Natsuu! Come here!" Lucy beamed and ran in his pathway.

She grabbed the cat ears and gently put them on his head behind his ears, him silently growling the whole time. She put the bunny ears on her head, moving some of her bangs in front of it with a smile.

"There. Now we're presentable." She snickered at him and hooked her arm with his.

Natsu just rolled his eyes and smiled. He wouldn't admit it, but he was glad he got the cat ears, it reminded him of his cat Happy. They were the same blue color, not that it was a normal color for a cat, but awkwardly the same and were fluffy, like his. He also liked Lucy in the bunny ears too, that was a plus.

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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"Wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Lucy asked, staring up to the giant ride before them.

Natsu just pursed his lips indecisively, glancing up to the machine also.

"Eh, I'd rather not." He said slowly, showing his unsureness about the subject.

"What? Scared of heights?" Lucy mused jokingly, turning to him with a mischievous smile.

"No." He deadpanned, showing her he wasn't afraid of it.

"Then what is it?" Lucy asked, still not fully believing him.

"I...have pretty bad motion sickness..." He mumbled, turning his head away from her so that the words would be incoherent.

"Motion sickness?" Lucy echoed, obviously showing that she heard him.

"Yeah." Natsu nodded sheepishly.

"So you can drive a car, but you can't ride a Ferris wheel?" Lucy questioned, staring at him with a confused look.

"I have medication for it, since I walked here I didn't think I would need any of it." Natsu shrugged, ruffling his hair in an unimportant way.

Lucy just rolled her eyes and sighed, tugging him away from the Ferris wheel.  
"You really are a piece of work."

Natsu grinned at her cheekily, finding the statement a complement, considering she was willing to 'put up with him' because he's so hard to handle.

"Want some ice cream Princess?" Natsu asked, finding the look on her face very elegantly high, much like one.

"Yes, I would." She smiled at him, showing off her pearly teeth much like a princess would.

The two strolled up to the cart slowly and ordered two cups of ice cream, Natsu being nice enough to pay for the princess. They got small spoon with their cups and began strolling down the pavement again.

The two really seemed to be enjoying each other's company, not a second spared without laughter erupting from one of them while the other had some sort of clumsy accident like tripping over air and stumbling over their own two feet. It was just a feel-good atmosphere that night, it made them feel free and happy, like they were drunk off the feeling.

Natsu ceased laughing at the bunny-eared blonde and let his eyes gaze over to yet another game station. His eyes automatically went to the blue stuffed dragon hanging atop, that one looking exactly like Lucy's, except hers was red. His mind went to his little cousin Wendy, who lived in Cait up north. She would love that, she was always talking about dragons, much like he did at that age. Heck, he still loved dragons.

He frowned a bit at how long the line was for the game, and if he could actually win it. The guy working there seemed to pay no attention to the prizes, it would actually be pretty easy to snatch it right from under him. He grinned at the thought.

Natsu turned to ask Lucy if she would help him, but once he spared a glance at her, his mind automatically went to the answer he already knew she'd make. That didn't stop him from stumbling over a few words before he could stop himself.

"What was that?" Lucy asked, looking to him curiously.

"It's nothing, never mind." He shook his head and kept walking.

"Natsuu, tell me." Lucy pleaded, catching up to him to give him her puppy eyes.  
She hated it when people did that, it just irked her with annoyance of what they were going to say and what made them change their mind of telling her.

"Nah, your too...goody two shoes for it." He smirked at her, already amused at how quickly her expression changed.

Lucy let an offended expression spread across her face, making both of them stop walking while she planted her hands on her hips, her dragon looped in her arm and her ice cream cup still held in her other hand.

"I am not!" She defended, leaning towards him angrily.

"Wow, that is the biggest lie you have _ever_ told!" Natsu burst out laughing, seeing her face go from surprised back down to offended.

"It is not! I'm not a goody two shoes!" Lucy defended again, but couldn't resist the smile that crept up on her face.

"Yeah right. You always care about what other people think of you and don't stand out. You go by what everyone else does." Natsu said to her honestly, a smile still lingering on his lips.

"Hey, that's not true-"

"Oh really?" Natsu asked, sticking his spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"Then how 'bout this, you go over there, on that bench and scream as loud as you can." Natsu dared her, pointing to a lone green park bench.

Lucy was taken aback by his dare and stared blankly at him. What?

"Why would I do that?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at him like he was asking her to rob a bank.

Natsu rolled his eyes and sighed. "I dunno, maybe because it's _fun_?"

"How is that fun? That's just stupid." Lucy remarked casually.

"See, you're too embarrassed to do it because you're afraid of what everyone'll think. I told you!" Natsu laughed victoriously at her.

"Well...! How about you Mr. Hotshot? You go up on that bench and scream your lungs out!" Lucy challenged him right back, perking up from her embarrassment.

Natsu's eyebrows raised at her bold demand and looked back to her cheeky smirk. He laughed a bit at her and shrugged.

"Alright. Hold my ice cream." He said to her, holding out his small cup for her to take.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him, slowly taking the cup and watched him as he started to back away.

Natsu just gave her a look before spinning on his heel and jogging to the bench. He jumped up on it, rubbing his hands together as if he was about to do something hard working. He glanced at the smiling blonde, before releasing an ear piercing scream that practically silenced the entire festival.

Lucy gaped in atrociousness as all the eyes surrounded him went his way, looking to him curiously and crazily. Some saw him, and simply rolled their eyes turning away while others looked to him like he was mental.

"HEY! WOULD YOU SHUT UP!" A man's voice yelled at Natsu, throwing an empty bottle at him that hit his head harshly. That cut off his scream and made him flinch at the act, giving the man an awkward stare.

Natsu just waved at him with a sheepish smile and stepped down from his bench, seeing his audience disband pretty quickly. He laughed and made his way back towards Lucy, trying to find her in the thick crowd. He did, and he can safely say this wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

She was laughing. Not like a simple laugh where you would pay no mind to it, but a full blown explosion of laughs. Her head was thrown back and her unintentional steps were staggering. He just stared at her in disbelief; he had never seen her like this before. She tried to stop herself, tried to get a breath in before she suffocated herself, but it only lasted a second before she burst out again. Her laughs were practically silent, and he's pretty sure he saw a tear escape before she planted her head on his chest.

Natsu just sighed at her and took his ice cream back, her hand showing no resistance to it. She finally seemed to calm down, her watery eyes finally opening and only a few distant laughs coming out at different times.

"Are you done yet?" Natsu asked, half hoping she would stop laughing at him already and half hoping he could see her like this forever.

This only seemed to crack her up even more. She burst out again, obviously not done yet as she staggered back and forth while walking. She was like on cloud 9, she just couldn't help herself. She hasn't laughed this hard in years, her throat burned and was dry, and she's pretty sure she was crying too. She missed this feeling, the feeling of uncontrollable emotions. Before she had even known it, she stumbled into Natsu and knocked his half-eaten ice cream cup right out of his hands.

Natsu just watched it in slow motion as it flew, droplets of melted ice cream flying in the air and crashing to the floor, along with the cup. It spun around on its circular edge a few times, before settling on the pavement upside down, the chocolate blood creating a puddle around it.

"NO!" Natsu cried out, holding out his hands to his fallen treat with wide eyes.

Lucy had managed to get a glance at it and did the impossible. She laughed harder, bursting out again as Natsu looked back to her with atrociousness.

"I-I'm...s..s-s..orry..." Lucy managed to choke out in between her giggles.

Natsu just sighed a smile at her, shaking his head to the ground. He waited till she calmed down again, taking in the much needed air for her lungs, and slapped her ice cream cup with the back of his hand swiftly.

"NO!" Lucy cried out in laughter as she watched her cup splatter to the pavement.

"It's only fair." Natsu shrugged, recieveing a push on the shoulder from her.

Lucy sighed from her laughter, wiping her face free of tears and rested her head on his shoulder. Who knew laughing could wear you out so much? She was tired, yet she was full of energy too. She loved this feeling.

"A picture for the lovely couple?" A voice spoke out to them, catching their attention.

Lucy automatically blushed at his words, turning to see a photography booth with frames of random people in pictures.

"Oh, sure." Natsu said easily, shrugging off his assumption of the two and strolled closer to him.

Lucy wondered if he had even noticed what he called them, but she decided to do the same, shrug it off and enjoy the time.

"Great!" The photographer beamed, holding up his camera as he hoped out from behind his booth.

He held up the camera to his right eye, getting in the correct stance to take the picture.

"Smile!" He sang cheerfully, asking for them to get ready.

Lucy did as he said, loosely wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer to her. Natsu felt heat rise up to his face, yet gladly accepted the gesture. He smiled too and wrapped his arms around her waistline, waiting for the man to snap the picture.

_FLASH_

"Nice." The man grinned at the two, finding them quite cute as the picture slid out from the bottom.

He tugged out the picture gently and waved it back and forth, hurrying up the process of it developing. It slowly faded into the two standing before them, both having serene smiles adorn on their faces.

"Here you are." He said, handing out the picture for them to take.

"You don't want any money for it?" Lucy asked, slowly taking the picture into her hands with hesitation.

"Nah, today's the first day of the festival! I'm feeling generous." He beamed, adding a cheeky smile as he backed up into his booth again.

Lucy smiled at his sweet act and safely accepted the picture into her hands.

"Thank you sir!" She waved at him, starting to back away with Natsu right next to her.

The man waved back to her and Lucy turned on her heel again, studying the picture.

"Here, you can keep it." She said, holding out the photo for him to take.

"What? You don't want it?" Natsu asked jokingly, taking the picture from her hands.

Lucy just shrugged and offered him a cute mischievous smile.

"Yeah, but we can always take another one." She gazed over to him sweetly.

Natsu smiled and put the photo in his back pocket gently. He sighed and lazily put an arm around her shoulders, directing her away from a crack in the road, she was sure to trip over.

* * *

**Yaay, new chappy! I hope you enjoyed it and Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review! SERIOUSLY REVIEW. LIKE, NOW.**

**:) see ya!**

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	8. Black Steel Gajeel's

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 8**

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The sky was clouded. Dark and voluptuous puffs of clouds covered the dreary looking sky for as long as the eye could see. It hasn't rained yet today, but Natsu was sure it would at some point. He might as well hurry up then, his mind has been up in the clouds as well, but not exactly in a bad way.

He clipped his keychain onto a belt loop on his jeans, quickening up his pace down the road. It was only about 9:50 am, but it seemed so much later than that. Today just seemed like a lazy day; rain always seemed to have that effect on him.

Rain also had another effect on him; he always got 'thinky' when it rained. Something quite unusual for him. But for some reason, he just couldn't get that one memory out of his head. His cheek still felt as if it was burning from the thought of it alone. It wasn't something big and eye widening, but just something gentle and soft.

After taking Lucy home a few nights ago, she had given him yet another peck to his cheek. He didn't exactly get the whole meaning of it, yet it still warmed his insides like drinking a hot coffee. It was soft and sweet, only lasted no longer than a few milliseconds before darting back into her house again.

He liked the feeling, he can't really remember the last time that has ever happened to him. He couldn't really get his mind off it for the rest of the night too, it was like it had scarred him or something.

He just shrugged off the feeling though, not really wanting to search deeper into this.

Natsu was on his way to work. How else would he pay for his apartment? It was simple and generally easy, he worked with an old friend at a car garage from 10:00 to 5:00. The pay was decent and it wasn't too stressful, he actually kind of liked his job.

The words 'Black Steel Gajeel' appeared in his sight, the metallic sigh fitting the service quite well. It was a simple shop, had two garage doors already filled up with broken cars that needed fixing. Only him and Gajeel worked there, it was nice and peaceful. Gajeel wasn't exactly one to speak a lot, but they still had their nice conversations. It only got outta hand when he would unexpectedly show him his new album cover. Natsu would never say it, in risk of hurting his boss' feelings, but he kind of sucked. His musical talent was okay, but when he started to sing, that's when it all went downhill.

Natsu could hear the heavy metal track blast out of his boombox a mile away. It always seemed to fill that quietness that drifted in the shop, besides the constant sound of car parts falling to the ground along with tools and boxes.

He entered in one of the opened garage doors, seeing at least three or four new cars in the shop for fixing. Black combat boots caught his eye from under one of them, his right foot mindlessly tapping along to the metallic beat that blasted throughout the shop.

The place itself wasn't exactly inviting to the customers, had grease stains painted all over the concrete floor and messy tables of toolboxes thrown all over the place randomly. Not that you should really expect much out of a car repair shop, Gajeel sure didn't.

"Hey." Natsu greeted, banging the side of his fist on the side of the car, catching the man's attention.

Gajeel slid out from underneath the car, pushing the scooter he lay on forward with his feet. His deep red eyes looked around curiously, then went back to normal after seeing a familiar head of pink hair walking towards his cluttered desk.

"Hey." He greeted back, his voice rough and raspy, much going along with his exterior appearance.

It was true, if you first spotted the man, you would probably be somewhat scared of him. He had a tough appearance, a strong build with muscular arms, dark, ragged hair that reached down his back, and piercing, blood red eyes that looked as if they were studying your soul or something. He had numerous piercings, that's for sure. Had his eyebrows pierced, his nose, his ear, his lip, even some parts of his body too. But despite all of those crucial facts about what he looks like, his personality differed only slightly. He had a quiet nature, didn't talk much or speak his opinion unless someone asked him directly. He was impatient, didn't like waiting on people, especially if that person was a complete opposite of him. He has a weird knack for nicknames, as if he didn't like anyone's real name so he just called them as he saw them. That often stirred up a lot of unnecessary brawling between the two, it was good-natured of course, no one ever went too far. But it was rare actually to see Gajeel fight someone. He liked roughing around, showing off his strength like any other man, but he knew when it was time for violence or time for peace. He never ensured a fight if it could be handled with words instead. That came to a pleasant surprise to Natsu.

"We got a broken transmission on that one over there." Gajeel spoke gruffly, grabbing a cloth from a rack somewhere and strolling up beside a toolbox.

"Hmm." Natsu replied, slinging the bag from his shoulder onto the cluttered desk.

He sighed and looked around to the new experiments, some already lifted off the ground by machines and some just sitting normally. He looked at the Pontiac, looking as if it got a bit roughed up before being consulted for help.

"This one?" He questioned, passing by his boss towards the car.

Gajeel gave a hoarse grunt in reply, tossing a wrench into the toolbox next to him loudly before heading over towards Natsu's desk.

"Where are those blank forms I gave you the other day?" He asked blankly, moving his black duffle bag around on the desk to search within the scattered papers beneath it.

Natsu glanced over his way curiously, rubbing his hands on a cloth before laying down on a scooter to check its underneath.

"It's in the bag, on the top." He answered, sliding himself under the Pontiac.

Gajeel took his words and pushed over the bag, unzipping it silently. He pulled out the tall stack of blank customer information forms and dropped them beside the bag sluggishly, along with a few other items from the bag coming out as well. He needed to write down the owners information of the cars before they got all antsy about leaving their messed up car with him without a proper form. Geez people were stupid.

After noisily digging through all the drawers in his desk for a stupid pen that actually _worked_, he scribbled down the phone numbers and names from a piece of paper he had everything written on.

Only when he was done he noticed something that had gotten stuck in between the stacks of paper. He pulled out what seemed to be picture, mindlessly gazing Natsu's way as he noisily yanked out a car part from underneath it.

His deep red eyes flipped the photo right-side up, somewhat shocked of it. It had ole Natsu boy and a girl in it, wide smiles on each of their faces and costume ears on both of them. A teasing smirk made its way up to his lips, noticing how close the two seem to be.

"Who's the bunny girl?" Gajeel asked casually, still staring at the photo with his eyes on Lucy with her bunny ears.

Natsu by now was at a standing toolbox, shifting through the mess of metal gears and tools that he needed to fix the cars transmission. He glanced over towards his way, confused at his question, but saw him looking at the festivals picture he took. A smile made its way up his face before turning back to the wrench in his hand.

"That's Lucy, I met her a while back." Natsu answered casually, rubbing the stained grease off the wrench with a cloth.

"So, you finally found yourself a lady huh?" Gajeel teasingly asked, leaning against the desk leisurely to look at him for an answer.

Natsu just shrugged half-heartedly, only using one shoulder to answer as his eyes kept to the transmission in front of him. He loosened the bolt keeping the piece together with the wrench, before turning to his hands to completely take it out.

Gajeel raised a pierced eyebrow at him, not completely sure of his answer. He sighed either way, flicking the photo in his hands boredly.

"It's about time, I was beginning to wonder if you even knew what a kiss was." Gajeel joked gruffly, a wicked smirk coming across his lips with his words, along with his arms that crossed against each other.

Natsu just rolled his eyes at the joke and switched tools from the box beside him.

"I know what dating and all that stuff is, I just don't care much about it." He shrugged again, peering closer inside the car part to identify the problem.

Gajeel just sighed at him quietly, dropping the photo back onto his bag in defeat. He was never really one to 'delve deep' into emotions and all that, he's a guy for God's sake. Either way if he was, he knew that Natsu wasn't a 'open' sort of guy either. He's known him since high school, they didn't get off to a friendly start, but soon enough they could bear to be in the same room. Gajeel knew a lot of things about Natsu, something's that take a bit of time to truely see about him. Same way with himself, in fact.

"Alright, whatever Salamander." He sighed, ending the conversation topic as he strolled back over to his car.

Gajeel knew Natsu was a modest guy, in more ways than one. Most the time he was loud and cheery, generally a fun person to hang around. He lit up a room whenever he stepped foot inside and everyone loved being his friend. But there were things that he typically got quiet and embarrassed over; mostly anything to do with the concept of love or romance. He just felt uncomfortable with the subject, like he was sitting in a cheap chair; he just wanted to get up and leave. Even if he was freely open to most things, like anyone else in the world, there are some things you wish to keep to yourself. And he wished to keep his 'love life' to himself. He didn't like discussing the manner very much, it just seemed like a useless effort too.

And its not like he just randomly became this way, there wasn't an 'awful breakup' to make him hate talking about anything with relationships. He was just born like it. Gajeel didn't know much about Natsu's family life, but he can tell that his dad never talked to him much about girls or any of that. Hence why he's so clueless and uncomfortable around the subject.

That's mostly why everyone always depicts him as the 'dense moron' since high school. He was always so clueless when it came to girls, he could never tell if a girl obviously had a crush on him or if he had any 'weird' thoughts about girls. That's why most of his friends always teased him about being so dumb and oblivious. But in all truth, he did. He always knew in the back of his brain what all of that meant, he just never cared enough about 'love' to really acknowledge it. It was just who he is. He supposes if some girl came along and truly showed him the meaning of 'love' and all its nice perks, he might think it over, but like always, he just shrugs off any romantic interactions he's gotten over the past few years. He even felt uncomfortable just thinking about it. It was a weird pet peeve, but he learned to live with it.

Even Gajeel knew, that was probably about as much he was going to get over the whole 'Lucy' manner.

"I haven't been called that since high school, aren't you ever going to let me outgrow it?" Natsu asked, smiling down to the toolbox with a slight chuckle at the memory.

Gajeel just huffed a chuckle of his own, sliding down under the car again to resume his work.

"Nope."

* * *

**I know, short chapter sowy..Thanks for reading though, I appreciate all the sweet responses. :)**

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**Have a crazy day! :D**


	9. A Bar!

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 9**

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Today was Natsu's day off. He usually had two or three days to do whatever, normally on the weekends, it kind of depended if Gajeel had a good day or not. He didn't really have anything planned to do, so he decided to go see if Lucy was free and wanted to do something. Might as well, he didn't exactly want to spend the whole day inside.

It looked like the rain was over for now, sunlight beamed down on Magnolia like never before. He strolled down the all familiar paved road until the blondes peach colored apartment appeared in his eyesight. He resisted raising an eyebrow though. For once, her door was wide open and a broom was propped up beside it on the outside.

He approached the open doorway, peeking his head in curiously at what she had been planning for today. Both his eyebrows raised in mild shock, seeing Lucy in nothing but baggy sweatpants and a sports bra with her hair tied messily in a bun. She had earphones in, but her voice rang throughout her entire house. She was singing...One Direction?

"Baby just shout it out, shout it out, Baby just shout it out yeah!" He heard her voice sing out.

Laundry baskets were scattered all over the place, some full and some not, two different types of vacuums were plugged into the wall and her entire house-full of bookshelves were emptied into one messy stack. All of her windows were opened and she looked as if she was getting a work out, probably by dancing around while she did her laundry..

"Let's make a move..yeah! So tell me girl if every time we to-uch, you get this kind of ru-sh, you make me say Ye-ah, ye-ah!"

Natsu just let a smirk crawl upon his lips, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe to watch amusingly. Her dance moves weren't the best and her singing could still use some work, but for some reason, he just found it completely mesmerizing. And funny at how she still hasn't noticed his presence yet.

His arms absentmindedly crossed themselves, along with an eyebrow raising as she skipped to her washer along with the beat. Her hips swayed and her hands raised to the air in perfect sync with the song. Unfortunately for her, that whole process repeated for a good while.  
Lucy's heard her song end and sighed loudly, plucking out her earphones to wrap around her neck. She planted her hands on her hips as she stared at her giant pile of books, trying to deceiver something about them.

"Those are some pretty good dance moves there." Natsu suddenly said from behind her.

Lucy felt her heart leap into her throat and let out a shriek, whipping her head around to the source of the voice. She backed up a bit only to see a smirking Natsu in her doorway, looking as if he was enjoying the show.

"N-Natsu?" She stuttered, her cheeks flaring up on embarrassment of her appearance.

She suddenly realized how she must've looked and what she had been doing for the past playlist of random songs. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cover herself somewhat in front of him.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked right after herself, flattening down a strand of hair self-consciously.

Natsu just shrugged at her question, strolling further into her apartment with a neutral expression.

"Long enough to know I give you some sort of rush?" Natsu raised an eyebrow at her, another teasing smirk making its way up his lips as he toyed of a framed photo of her and Levy.

Lucy easily gave Natsu the reaction he was hoping for, her cheeks flared up to a bright red and her throat seemed clogged up in embarrassment.

"I-I wasn't singing about you..." She muttered, turning her bright face down to the floor shyly.

Natsu looked around her house curiously, studying its messy interior currently in the process of being cleaned up. He gazed back to her with a confused look.

"Who else were you singing to then?" He asked, that smirk still not faultering.

Lucy rolled her eyes and pushed back her embarrassed feeling, planting her hands on her hips with a harsh stare.

"Can't a girl sing to herself in her own house?" Lucy asked him sarcastically, finally noticing how rude that was to spy on her.

"Well you're not really by yourself if your door's wide open. What are you doing?" Natsu asked, strolling away from her photo table to the center of the room.

"Spring cleaning. What are you doing here?" Lucy asked, her brown eyes following Natsu's movement as he went over towards her dresser curiously.

Natsu just shrugged and picked up another picture of a young Lucy and her seemingly parents.

"I dunno, just wanted to see if you wanted to do something today." He said casually, placing the photo back down in its place.

Lucy sighed tiredly and gazed around her messy room, reminding herself of everything else she still has yet to finish.

"Well...you could help me clean up?" She questioned, looking over to him with hopeful eyes.

Natsu scrunched up his nose at the idea and shook his head.

"Eh...I'd ra-"

"Please Natsu? Look, its really easy." Lucy interrupted, skipping over to her giant book pile.

Natsu sighed and looked back to her, watching her bend over to pick up a few books. He quickly diverted his gaze to the floor, feeling he should as if it were a bad omen or something.

"What do I have to do?" He muttered in defeat, occasionally glancing up to see if she was done picking out books or not.

Lucy smiled at him and shoved to books in his face, making him step back a bit.

"Color-coded or alphabetical?" She asked bluntly, waving the books around in her hand.

Natsu raised an eyebrow at her and gently pushed the books out of his face.

"What?" He asked confusedly.

Lucy sighed and lowered the books by her side, keeping them in her hands to gaze at decisively.

"I can't decide on how to organize my bookshelves. I've practically done everything else besides this. If I alphabetize them, it'll be easier to find a book, but if I color-code them it'll look nicer. Which one should I do?" She asked, scratching her head as if it was a trivia question she couldn't figure out.

She pursued her lips at the thought, still waiting for the tie-breaking answer to help her. Silence only filled the space between them, making her gaze back up to him to see what the hold-up was. She raised an eyebrow at him, seeing him just stare blankly at her.

Lucy leaned in closer to him, still silently waiting for an answer as he continued to stare down to her. He finally blinked at her, quirking an eyebrow.

.

.

.

"Huh?"

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled at him, hitting his arm with her book harshly.

Natsu just laughed at her and blocked another hit with his forearm, protecting his head from a hard blow.

"I'm just kidding Luce." He pressed on, watching her roll her eyes in irritation.

She sighed and turned around briefly, dropping the books back onto the giant stack from which they came from.

"Unless you're going to help me today I'm afraid your out of luck for entertainment." She spoke sharply to him, planting her hands on her wide hips with a stubborn expression painted on her face.

Natsu just sighed loudly and lazily strolled away from her.

"Alright, alright. I'll help." He said in defeat, slumping onto her couch from behind it.

"Great!" He heard her beam from out of his view now.

He rested his feet on the arm of the sofa and his head on the other. His eyes didn't even slide shut completely before something was once again stuck in his face.

"Here, my tables need polishing." Lucy said eagerly, waving a cloth and spray bottle over his head.

Natsu quirked an eyebrow at her, gently pushing aside the two utensils from his face.

"I'm still workin' on your book problem..." He sighed, closing his eyes again.

"Natsuu..." Lucy groaned, letting her hands fall to her sides.

"Oh come on Lucy!" Natsu laughed at her, "It's a Saturday afternoon and you decide to spend it cleaning? Who cares if your table needs polishing or how you 'organize' your books? You should go out and actually do something for once."

"Just because I'm actually spending time to clean doesnt mean I don't go out! I went out with you, I went out with Levy!" Lucy defended herself.

"Oh, and that was how long ago? When was the last time you even called 'Levy'? Why don't you do something fun and spontaneous and not always play it safe?" He ranted calmly, stretching his arms behind his head with his eyes still shut lazily.

Lucy silently growled at him under her breath, standing over him persistently with her hands on her hips.

"Because! I play it safe to _keep_ me safe! It keeps me from doing stupid things that will probably land me in jail!"

"Who said anything about _jail_?!" Natsu gawked at her, darting up from the couch to stand in front of her. "See, you always think of the worst outcome to any occasion. That's your problem."

Lucy just stared agape at him, obviously offended that _he_ of all people was pointing out her flaws. It wasn't even a flaw!

"Now quit _cleaning_ and follow me." Natsu seethed that word through his teeth as he threw aside her cloth and spray bottle.

Lucy snapped out of her dumbfounded shock as Natsu grabbed her hand and began dragging her outside her house. She felt the harsh sunrays beat down on her exposed skin, making her squint at the sudden light change.

"Natsu! Stop!" She yelled at him, trying to wiggle her hand out of his.

"Nope! Come on, you're going to meet some friends of mine." He grinned cheekily at her from over his shoulder.

Lucy just continued to be dragged alongside her paved river, still trying to make feeble attempts to escape his iron clutch on her. She was growing more frustrated by the second, until she remembered one crucial thing.

"NATSU! I'M NOT EVEN WEARING A SHIRT!"

* * *

Still against her will, Lucy was dragged halfway across town by the pink-haired man, her shouting the entire way. He pulled her up a street, finally seeing his destination in his view and dragged her up a few stairs to the doors.

"A bar? No way am I going in there!" Lucy shouted out in disgust, now using her full strength to yank her hand away and glue her feet to a stair.

Natsu turned back to her, seeing her disapproving expression towards the place quite stubborn.

"Lucy come on, it won't bite." He insisted.

"No! I don't drink, it's bad for you and it can really mess you up! Plus there are probably really drunk people in there that are mean and will hurt me or something!" She ranted on innocently, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

Natsu straightened out his back towards her, letting a blank gaze fall upon her at her words.

"You've seriously never had a drink before?" He asked, for once with no amusement in his words.

"I've tasted wine once, and that's enough for me." She replied snippily, scrunching up her nose with a smug expression on.

"Wow...you really...need some help." Natsu raised an unamused eyebrow at her.

"Shut up!" Lucy snapped at her, glaring at him with offense.

Natsu just rolled his eyes and sighed at her, he knew she would be difficult, but not _this_ difficult.

"Lucy, just come on. I promise its not as bad as you think." He pressed on, taking a step closer to step up to her.

"No! I'm not going in there! Especially without a shirt!" She yelled at him in a hushed whisper, looking around to the people who were staring at her weirdly.

"Ugh, fine." Natsu groaned out, catching Lucy's attention away from the other people checking her out.

She turned back to him, only to have a rose blush cover her cheeks resistantly. He tugged the shirt over his head, rather sluggishly at that and pulled his head out of it.

"Here, a shirt. Now will you come inside already?" He asked, annoyance filling each word as he held out the T-shirt for her to take.

Lucy looked back up to him, her eyes in a heavy daze and her mouth slightly agape. Why was he so blunt with everything?! He just took off his shirt in public with no shame or embarrassment at all?

"U-Um..." She tried to speak, finding that all her years of honors English flew right out of her brain processes.  
Her eyes tore away from his heavy gaze and dived straight back down to his _reeallly_ muscled chest. How did it get like _that_? Was he on steroids or something?!

"Damn." She sighed out, her eyes never leaving his 6pack as she tilted her head.

"Helloo?"

"Huh? Yeah?" Lucy blinked at him, finding his dark eyes again from the past couple of well spent minutes.

"Sheesh you're a weirdo, just take it already." Natsu huffed, totally oblivious to his effect on her.

Lucy took the shirt quietly, now embarrassed by her earlier actions and pulled it over her head. She didn't even get the thing completely over her stomach before she was caught again and being dragged towards the doors.

"Natsu! I never agreed to go in!" She still continued to declare against him.

But, it was too late. Natsu bursted through the double doors, making them slam into the wall beside them noisily. He shouted some sort of greeting to the people who actually noted his appearance, a wide grin finding its way up to his lips again.

Lucy just stared wide eyed at the joint, standing in complete shock. The place was packed, much beyond its carrying capacity as it was the loudest place she had ever been in. People were scoured all over, a good portion of them bar fighting. Punches and insults were thrown around like it was nothing while others were trying not to get in the mix. Others around were just happily drinking, laughing and dancing with others around them and generally enjoying themselves. The wooden planked floors were stained with grease and alcohol, looking dark and dirty from what they should. The men there weren't much different, were covered in dirt and grime, had a big build and just generally looked scary to Lucy.  
Natsu laughing boisterously dragged Lucy away from her stupor and felt him begin to take her further into the grimy bar.

"Natsu, I don't like it in here.." Lucy said quietly, sticking close to him like a scared puppy.

"Don't be snippy, come on." Natsu urged her softly, nodding his head in the direction of the bar.

Lucy nodded quietly and followed him, staying by his side closely. She tried with all her might while shoving her way through the crowd to keep some drunk from brushing up against her. The last thing she needed was some sweaty old drunk guy wiping all his dirt on her.  
Now, she didn't mean to sound rude, but come on! Don't tell me if you saw some guy wearing a stained and ripped undershirt who looks like he weighs 300 pounds, you would want him all up on you. Nope, didn't think so. She wasn't raised to be in such a place. Lucy was born in more of a high-class lifestyle, she wasn't used to this kind of stuff. She was used to manners, and planning, and cleaning, and rules, and propriety. All of which she's _sure_ not one person in this bar knows of. It was unusual to her, foreign. Of course she feels uncomfortable and 'snippy'. It's not like she wants to think higher of herself than anyone here, it was just a natural instinct.

"Mira!" Natsu called out for her, waving his hand high in the air as they stood in front of the bar counter.

Lucy gazed from behind Natsu as seemingly 'Mira' came over. She was beautiful. Enough to make Lucy surely jealous over her. She had long wavy hair, dyed a nice grey and big blue eyes to match them. She had a sweet feel about her, an innocent look with a generous smile that just made you feel like you could connect to her about anything. She sure did look wise, kind of like a mother. Lucy could tell she would like her already.

"Ah, hello Natsu! What happened to your shirt?" Mira smiled at him, ending with a curious look on her pretty face.

Natsu just stepped aside, letting Mira catch a full glance of Lucy from behind him.

"Meet Lucy." He said simply, slapping a hand on her back with a grin.

Lucy swallowed harshly and gave a bitter smile, an embarrassed blush finding its way to her cheeks. She gave an awkward wave, obviously showing Mira her lack of modern social skills.

Mira gave a good-natured smirk at the blonde, finding her embarrassment kind of amusing.

"I see, well it's nice to meet you Lucy. I'm Mira." She introduced kindly, waving her hand to an empty seat in front of her.

"Hello." She smiled a bit to her, claiming the seat hesitantly.

"Mira! Gimme a regular!" Natsu bellowed, hopping in his own seat next to Lucy.

Mira laughed at him and sent him a wink. "Comin' right up! Would you like something Lucy?"

"Oh no thanks, I don't drink." Lucy waved a hand at her reassuringly, sending her a small smile.

Mira stopped in her tracks at the blonde, straightening out her posture to look confusingly at her.

"Honey, what are you doing in a bar for?" She laughed a bit at her, placing a hand on her hip. "Don't worry, I got somethin for ya."

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek nervously, watching the barmaid go away with a mischievous smile painted on her face. She heard Natsu laugh boisterously next to her, giving her yet another joyful slap to her back.

"Cheer up Lucy! Don't be so shy!" He insisted on her, leaning on the bar with his forearms.

"I'm not like you Natsu, we have different people skills." Lucy argued gently, keeping her hands to her lap with her back straight.

"Oh whatever, just have a good time! We're all friends here, no ones gonn-"

Lucy gasped loudly as she saw Natsu get clocked right in the cheek, sending him flying into a wooden table. Her eyes were wide open as she hopped up from her chair.

"Natsu!" She cried out in atrociousness.

"MAN!" Lucy saw some huge bodybuilder bellow, posing in a way to show off his muscles.

Lucy just gaped at them silently, trying to grasp what was _happening_ right now. Natsu recovered from the punch, pushing himself off the now destroyed table to his feet. He grinned, wiping the corner of his mouth with his hand calmly.

"Oh my God..." She breathed, arching her eyebrows at the sight, but still relieved he looked unharmed.

"Don't worry about it Lucy!" Mira laughed at her, waving a reassuring hand at her.

Lucy backed up a bit blindly, her eyes never leaving the two and rested a hand on the wooden counter.

"He just punched him...I mean..." Lucy stammered, finally gazing back to Mira in confusion.

"Oh their just roughin' around, guys you know? Come and try this!" Mira beamed at her, waving her hand to a seat in front of her again.

Lucy did so, stepping towards the barstool once again and glanced back to Natsu and that guy. Seeing Natsu in a headlock, still keeping on his big grin as he tried out of it, Lucy sighed and slumped down in front of Mira.

Lucy placed her hands in her lap modestly and watched as Mira placed a very small glass right in front of her. It was no larger than the palm of her hand, she was confused at the size.

She studied the liquid inside, a golden bronze color that looked seemingly harmless, especially in such a small quantity. That didn't stop her from rasing an eyebrow though.

"What is it?"

"Just a little drink, I promise you'll like it." Mira encouraged her with a gentle smile.

Lucy pursed her lips to the side, carefully picking up the small glass into her hand. She swirled the liquid around as much as she could without spilling it, which wasn't hard. She stared at it intently, still unsure about everything.

"Are you sure? I don't know..." She drifted off, giving Mira an innocently worried look.

Mira sighed and rolled her eyes, giving a exasperated smile at her.

"Ah jeez Lucy, NATSU! COME TELL LUCY TO TRY THIS!" She yelled, waving her hand back and forth while her other cupped her mouth to overpower everyone else in the bar.

Lucy turned a bit to where Mira was looking and abruptly saw Natsu slump down in the seat next to her, a grin still present on his face. The only difference she saw was that he was a bit sweatier and was still shirtless, now fitting the atmosphere a tad better.

He eyed her a bit, before gazing down to the small glass in her fingers, his grin growing wider with a roll of his eyes. "Oh come on Luce, it's just a small shot."

"Well-oh, okay-"

Lucy managed to stammer out before Natsu easily tipped the shot down her throat. She swallowed harshly, shoving the liquid down her throat before releasing a cough or two.

"There ya go. Not so bad huh?" Natsu grinned at her innocently, leaning his forearms on the counter.

Lucy licked her bottom lip slowly, tasting the liquid again as she swallowed again. She felt it slide down her throat easily, but harshly too. It burned her, but in a soothing way and it had a slightly bitter taste, but in a way she favored it. It...wasn't that bad.  
Lucy giggled a bit, enjoying the newfound feeling the concoction gave her. She felt her muscles relax and a large portion of her nerves kind of..melt away.

"Y-Yeah..."

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"Can I have another?"

* * *

"YEEEAAHHHHHH!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, hearing the rest of the bar yell with her too.

She laughed hysterically, waving around a half-empty beer bottle with carelessness as she staggered around on top of the bar counters. She slumped down to her butt, her laughing never ceasing for a second as she leaned onto her new drinking buddy, burying her laughs into the back of her shoulder.

Lucy tipped the beer bottle down her throat again, greedily taking in the oh so _glorious_ liquid trapped inside the glass. She slammed the bottle down on the counter, laughing boisterously once again as she shaked her head around vigorously. Her hair was out her bun, now crazily strewn all over with her bangs ruggedly fallen in her eyes, her manners now tossed away to the other side of the world, and her 18 years of high-class, princess like teachings have been shoved down the drain since her third shot.

"Hey Lu-cy...you...you're gettin a little tip-sy there." Her new friend...one she had yet to get her name said, followed by a slurred chuckle.

Lucy threw her head back laughing, finding her remark utterly hilarious as one of her legs fell off the side of the counter.  
"What are you talking abouuut? I don't even _drink_!" She slurred, a sloppy smile finding its way across her face at the last word.

Her friend chuckled lightly, shaking her head as she poured back the last of her beer bottle down her throat with ease.  
Natsu pushed his way through the thick crowd of drunks, looking for one particular blonde drunk. He sighed at the sight, her back pressed against another's with a full bottle of beer in her hand limply and a giant smile strewn on her pink lips. He walked up to them, noticing Lucy's smile grow wider at the sight of him and her shift slightly towards the edge of the counter.

"Lucy, it's getting pretty late...we should get you home now." Natsu said, blinking rapidly to keep himself alert.

"No! I don't wanna leave, I'm having too much fuunn!" Lucy sang happily, jumping off the counter to twirl around with her hands high in the air.

Natsu just laughed her, finding her current condition kind of unbelieveable. She continued to twirl, accidently hitting men twice her size with carelessness. The men just laughed at her, saying jokes about her good-naturedly.

"Who woulda thought you of all people could keep up with Michelle?" He sighed, shaking his head.

"Michelle's my bestieee!" Lucy drug out cheerfully, sending her a wide grin as she swug her bottle in the air, spilling its contents sloppily.

"Come on Luce, I'm glad you're having fun and all but I think its about time we go." Natsu spoke to her gently, grabbing her underarm tenderly to tug her towards the exit.

Lucy felt herself be dragged by Natsu -in her mind- roughly, her feet trying to keep up with him. She chugged the last three-quarters of her beer quickly, letting it drop to the floor with a clank as her feet shuffled back and forth with confusion.

"Bye everyone!" Natsu yelled to the rambunctious crowd, cracking open the wooden door into the night.

"BYE EVERYONNNNEEE!" Lucy mimicked loudly, using the best baby voice she could produce at the moment, waving her hand back and forth vigorously.

"Bye!"

"See ya!"

"Careful you guys!"

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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Lucy fell into another fit of laughter as she stumbled out of the doors, her arm still snatched by Natsu's hand. She felt the cool night breeze brush upon her hot and sweaty face, making her sigh in pleasure.

"Alright Lucy...come on.." Natsu said, his voice strained as he struggled with keeping the blonde to her feet.

"Natsu...quit being so rough..." Lucy complained lightly, finding her feet slip out from under her as she struggled with keep _herself_ to her feet.

Natsu sighed at her, seeing her find her way in front of him with much difficultly.

"Jeez Natsu, you're _drunk_ aren't you?" Lucy accused him, arching her eyebrows unapprovingly as she jammed her finger in his bare chest.

She burst out into another fit of giggles, lowering her head to the ground as she staggered back and forth.

"Alright Lucy, just climb on my back." Natsu directed her behind him, lowering himself to help her climb on.

Lucy did, rather sluggishly at that and slumped her head on the back of his shoulder blade with her arms strewn around his neck limply.

"Are we going on an adventure..?" She asked innocently into his back, feeling him lift them off the ground with his arms around her legs.

"Yeah...to your house." Natsu sighed, starting to walk down the paved street once again.

Lucy readjusted herself on him, moving her limp head next to his as her chin rested on the top of his shoulder.

"Hey Natsu..." She whispered into his ear.

Natsu felt his ear twitch at her hot breath on his ear, feeling some heat rise to his face. He could smell the alcohol from her breath, but he still blushed nonetheless.

"Guess what.." She continued, brushing her soft lips against the rim of his ear, along with her breath.

Natsu swallowed harshly, his ear cringing pleasantly at the touch as he shook his head, trying to get ahold of himself and his red face.

"What?" He asked casually, calming himself down.

"I think...I like..drinking." Lucy said slowly, before bursting out laughing again into his shoulder.

"Jeez..." Natsu sighed into the night sky.

* * *

So, Natsu sluggishly trudged the blonde back to her peach apartment, struggling to open the door without dropping her flat on her ass. He shoved the door open with his foot, letting the bright moonlight flood into her messy living room/bedroom.

"Whose _house_ is this? It's a total mess.." Lucy nagged loudly, saying it as if she had just walked into a junkyard full of waste.

Natsu sighed and carried her to her pink bed, happily eager to get her off him.

"Alright Lucy..." He swung her around, landing her on her soft sheets with a jump.

Lucy just groaned from the sudden movement and clung to his neck, almost making him fall onto of her before he caught himself.

"Lucy...let go.." Natsu sighed, balancing himself with his hands on the bed.

"Mm mm.." Lucy hummed, keeping her iron lock on his neck as she buried her head there.

Natsu exhaled and lifted his hands to pry hers off him. She slumped back into her sheets, her head hitting the fluffy pillow with a bounce. She whimpered sadly, tossing and turning around on her sheets, ruining the nice perfectness of it before.

"Natsuu..I'm cold.." She whined childishly, shifting her body towards him as she buried her head in her pillow.

Natsu tugged her pink comforter from under her and placed it over her, bringing it up to her shoulders in hopes of helping her fall asleep.

"Better?" He asked, leaning on the side of her bed with his hands.

"Mm mm.." Lucy shook her head stubbornly in the pillow, kicking the sheets off her till they reached her waist.

Natsu felt his hand be captured by Lucy's, finding hers actually kind of hot and be tugged on towards her.

"Come on.." She tugged his hand again, scooting over in the bed for room for him.

"Luce..." Natsu sighed at her, feeling her clamp down harder.

"Naatsuu...I'm cold.." She pleaded to him, gazing up into his dark eyes with innocence.

Natsu stared at her momentarily before sighing once again and climbing into bed next to her. He figured why not, you know. He was kind of drunk himself and he didn't really feel like finding his way home from here. It was late and dark, not the time to be wandering around mindlessly. Plus, Lucy was cold.

Lucy scooted closer to him once he settled down, digging her head under his arm and laying it on his tan chest, near his collarbone. She buried her head closer to him, letting his scent infiltrate her nose with no resistance.

"You're always so warm...that's really weird but I like it..." She mumbled to him, inching closer to place her hand on his chest too, next to her head.

"Just go to sleep Luce.." Natsu spoke to her softly, rubbing her back gently.

Lucy giggled for some unknown reason and buried her head further, sighing an "Okay.."

Natsu just sighed at her and stared up to her pale ceiling mindlessly. Not even a few minutes passed before he heard her breaths come out softly, signaling she had already fallen asleep. No wonder, her bed was _really_ comfy. He might have to come over more often now.

* * *

**OMG 105 FOLLOWS IM SO HAPPY! Seriously this is so awesome im not even double digits in this story yet! Thanks guys so much I dearly appreciate it all!**

**Welp, I guess I lost my challenge...oh noo.. :)**

**Well, heres my end of the deal, A summary for a story ive been workin on sorta kinda:**

**_When Loke takes a few months off to get married, Natsu must take his place at Fairy Tail. A prison for very murderous women. Along the way Natsu meets a fellow guard Grey, and a few of the special inmates. Being the shy man he is, Natsu doesn't know how things will turn out for the next few months. Especially when one of the most murderous women there develops a small crush on him.._**

**Review and tell me what you think! this story and my summary please! I love love love long reviews so pwease do so!**

**Have a crazy day!**


	10. It's About Time

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 10**

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Lucy really didn't feel like waking up today. She wasn't even sure if she was awake, but she's 90% sure she would have too. She had a major headache. Her head was throbbing, she could hear her blood pulse in and out of her brain, and the entire room was spinning. She swallowed harshly, squeezing her eyes shut in hopes of clearing up her sight. She cringed a bit as she did, finally tasting the worst aftertaste of booze and beer in her mouth. She licked her dry lips, cracking open her eyes again as light flooding in her house. She released a low groan, the sunlight that leaked in her house only doing as much as worsening her headache.

Lucy sighed and buried her face back in her pillow, hoping to block out the hurtful rays and to make her head stop pounding as if a weight just fell on it. She breathed in slowly, trying to clear the fog in her mind. Wow. Her pillow actually smelt _really_ good, but since when was it ever this hard? It was squishy, but also very tough...what kind of pillow was this? And why was it moving?

She forced her eyes open once again, only to be back to blurred vision. She moved her head around slowly, rubbing it up and down on her weird pillow as she blinked slowly. She yawned, her headache not serving well to that and cleared up her sight. She sighed once again and blinked. Once. Twice...was this a chest? It was a tanned and muscled chest, but it was indeed, a chest.

Lucy slowly lifted up her head, turning it to look forward at who the _hell_ she was sleeping on. Messy pink hair filled up her eyesight, along with a relaxed face that rested on her real pillow. Huh. It was Natsu.

She would probably comment on how different he looked when he was asleep compared to when he was awake, but frankly she was too drunk and confused to care at the moment.

Lucy shrieked and pushed herself off the man, serving him a swift kick out of her bed. He slammed into the back of her couch, which was only a few feet away and fell to the floor.

Lucy groaned and clutched her head. Okay, waay too much movement for a hangover right now.

"Lucy...what the hell are you doing..?" Natsu mumbled, obviously annoyed as he sat up behind her couch.

"Wha? What's going on?" Lucy questioned, utterly confused at everything now.

Natsu sighed and yawned loudly, bringing up a knee to rest his arm on. He supposes he could of seen this coming last night, but he didn't really care then. Ah, how he regrets it.

"Why were you in my bed?!" Lucy said to him as sharply as she could without worsening her headache.

"Will you calm down? I was just sleeping, jeez." Natsu sighed tiredly, using the couch to stand up fully.

Lucy rolled her eyes and clutched her throbbing head again, letting out another pained groan.

"What happened last night?" She asked, closing her eyes to help relieve the pain of light.

Natsu chuckled at bit at her and leaned against the back of the couch, crossing his arms.

"You had this thing called fun. I think you enjoyed it." He joked softly at her.

"What are you talking about? I feel pretty crappy if you ask me." Lucy deadpanned, letting her head fall back into her pillow.

"Go take a shower, that'll help sober you up." Natsu advised, nodding his head towards her bathroom.

"Ugh, I didn't do anything stupid did I? How could you let me drink..?" Groaned Lucy, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and resting her head in her hands.

"Hey, I only gave you one drink. You driving the entire bar out of alcohol is all on your part." Natsu told her, strolling his way into her newly found kitchen.

Lucy sighed and unsteadily got to her feet, mumbling a 'shut up' under her breath. She felt the room start to spin a bit again and staggered to the couch. She leaned against it, putting a hand to her forehead to get her sight straight again. How could anyone bear this more than once? Who would be stupid enough to start drinking again after experiencing this? Oh right, _Natsu_.

She slammed her head on the cool table, feeling the relief as her hot forehead simmered down a bit. She heard Natsu noisily go through her entire kitchen in search of something she probably didn't have, opening up cabinets and the fridge door numerous times.

"Do you not have _any_ food here?" Natsu asked, quirking an eyebrow her way even if she couldn't see.

"Do you not know it's rude to go through someone's kitchen?" Lucy muttered to him bluntly, her voice muffled by the table.

"Don't you know it's rude to say that to a guy who just carried you back here?" Natsu shot back gently, still opening cabinets.

Lucy sighed in defeat, her scholar brain not working properly in order to win this argument.

"Fine...no I dont have anything. I don't cook."

"Really? You seem like one to be able too." Natsu spoke casually, still searching within the small kitchen.

"Hmm..." Lucy hummed half-heartedly. "What time is it? I have a...a...thing..at 5..."

Natsu looked around her kitchen, glancing at any appliance she owned in the confined space. 11:12 blinked in bright red letters.

"11:12." He answered half-heartedly.

Lucy sighed against the table and closed her eyes. Silence overtook the kitchen, making the blonde wonder what could keep the guy next to her silent.

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"OH CRAP MY JOB!"

Natsu cursed loudly and darted from her kitchen, running back by her bed.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh a bit, sluggishly standing up to join him in her main room. He ran around crazily, what exactly he was searching for, she didn't know. She decided to watch amusingly, slumping down to her couch and resting her forearms on that back of it, along with her chin on top of that.

Natsu scratched his head, repeating words under his breath. He had his wallet, phone, his duffle is at his house and...was that it? Yeah, guess so.

"Alright, I guess I'll be heading out then." He sighed, still feeling as if he was missing something.

Lucy nodded at him as he hesitantly headed towards her door, a weird thinking expression still adorn on his face. She stood up, hovering right around her couch to lean on, kind of waiting to see when he'll actually make it to the door.

Natsu snapped his fingers, turning his head back towards her with realization on his face.

"Oh, Lucy. I need my shirt." He spoke easily, now noticing he was still shirtless.

Lucy's face flushed mildly, glancing down to the oversized shirt that covered her. She fingered the hem of it, now noticing it wasn't hers either.

"Oh right. I'll just..yeah.." She stammered a bit, heading back towards the left side of her room.

Considering Lucy only had about three real rooms, one of which not being a personal bedroom, she had the luxury of a walk-in closet so she didn't have to change in her living room. She headed in there, the door being next to the kitchens archway, and opened it up. She changed her shirt, grabbing a random one to wear so that she actually had a shirt to wear in front of her 'guest'.

Lucy came out, her eyes searching the apartment for him now. She frowned childishly as she saw him facing her way, reading something he had picked up off her desk. She stalked closer, unnoticed by him, and chucked his shirt right in his face. She laughed as he stumbled back a step, vigorously trying to take off the shirt and find out what it actually was.

"Really?" He grumbled, tossing the shirt over his shoulder as she approached him.

"Well don't go reading people's stuff, that's what you get." Lucy smiled at him, yanking her papers out of his hand.

"What is it? You writing a story or something?" He questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

Lucy smiled and straightened out her stack of papers neatly. "Yes, actually. If you didn't know I'm a novelist. I'm working on my second book now."

Natsu nodded at her intriguingly, glancing back to her desk in a half-hearted search for the book.  
He saw one book there amongst the endless piles of scratch paper and picked it up.

"This it?" He asked, flipping it on its back to read.

Lucy hummed in agreement and tidied up her desk, straightening up all her papers and putting the keyboard to her computer back in it's proper spot.  
"Shouldn't you be at work or something?" She questioned, noticing how calm he is about the manner now.

He just shrugged, placing the book back down on her desk.

"Eh, I'm late anyways. Might as well not waste my breath over getting there now."

Lucy giggled at that, planting her hands on her hips.

"You should still go you know. What do you do anyways?" She asked curiously.

"Ah, I work at a car repair shop with an old friend. I like it though, it's pretty easy." He answered, strolling away from her towards her couch.

"Cool, so you fix cars and stuff? How good are you?" She asked, a playing smile on her lips.

"I'm decent. Better than most." He boasted, shrugging his arms as he glanced at her.

Lucy shook her head down to her coffee table, now in an OCD fit about neatness thanks to Natsu. She smiled and heard him sigh across the room.

"Well I should probably head out. I'll see you later, okay?"

Lucy gazed back to him, seeing his back to her as he pulled his shirt down over his back. She only caught him in the midst of it, but she wondered if that was her imagination when he saw something red on his back. Did he have a tattoo? You would think she would of noticed beforehand, but she wasn't exactly checking out his back every chance she got. Hm, she'll have to ask about that later.

"Alright, see ya." She said, standing up straight as he opened her door.

She noticed Natsu glance back from her doorframe, a suspicious grin on his face.

"Check out your desk once you get a chance too."

Lucy raised an eyebrow as he left, now curious to what he left on her desk. She went over, not exactly noticing anything that different. She did see a tiny scrap of paper hanging on the corner of her desk with messy writing on it, definitely not hers.

_If you ever get locked out of something again and you actually bring your phone, feel free to call._

And below that, was his number. She smiled down to the sheet, rubbing her finger on the thin material. She hopped across the room, plugging his number into her phone with excitement.

It was about time she got that.

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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_BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT_.

Lucy sighed and wiped her forehead with the back of her arm, straightening her back from her crouched position. She jammed her last book in her bookshelf, finally done with her -supposed to be Spring but now the middle of Summer- cleaning. She hurried over to her desk, grabbing the small phone in her hand to check the I.D.  
A picture of Levy appeared in a frame, nearly taking up the whole screen with an 'Accept' or 'Decline' button. She smiled a bit and answered.

"Hey Lucy." Levy's voice said from within her phone.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothin really, are you busy? I figured we could go eat or something." Levy offered.

"Yeah, I just finished cleaning up. How about Droy's place?" Lucy asked, leaning against her desk leisurely.

"Ooo yeah, that sounds good. Meet in an hour?" Levy beamed, a smile being heard through her voice.  
Lucy laughed at her eagerness and nodded to no one in particular. "Yeah. See you there."

* * *

After Lucy had gotten ready, which consists of a shower to get rid of all of the sweat she produced from cleaning all day, she head out to the dazzling streets of Magnolia. Crossing over the bridge, she hurried down the busy streets in search for Droy's restaurant.

_DING_

"Ah, hello Miss Lucy! Welcome back!" She heard the all familiar voice beam from behind the counter.

"Hey Droy!" She smiled back to him, waving a hand in the air.

Lucy sighed a smile at the sight of him. He wore a big smile, a tall chef's hat on his head and a giant spatula in his hand. The place itself was cute also. Sort of a retro, 50's diner kind of theme. Had pure white counters and tables around the shop, all bearing dark green seats to match with the wall designs. The walls themselves were a dark and mystical green, yet had white patterns of vines and swirls popping from them. Droy always had a thing for nature, he brought it out well in his shop.

He seemed to have gotten heavier too. Ah, Lucy could still remember the days when the sweet man was a string bean, didn't have a ounce of fat anywhere on his body. Now a couple years later, it seems like he found it after all. He's gained a massive amount of weight after a terrible breakup. He just ate and ate, didn't really know when to stop for the good of his health.

Thanks to his best friend Jet, who owns his own restaurant -where the two girls had eaten a couple weeks ago- Droy had gotten a hold of himself and has tried to think more about his health. He still wears a giant smile to any customer now, it made Lucy happy to see him so well.

"Lu-chan!" Levy yelled over the voices of other customers, waving her hand to catch her attention.

Lucy smiled her way and made her way over to a tall table accompanied by barstools.

"Hey." She greeted her, sitting down on the seat gently and looking her way.

"Hey. This place sure is packed." Levy observed, glancing around the diner filled to the rim with happy customers.

"Yeah. Seems like Droy's business is doing well." Lucy agreed with her, doing the same. "Have you ordered?"

"Yeah I got your usual. You wanted that right?" Levy asked.

Lucy hummed in agreement and patted the table, looking outside the window that was on her left side. Car headlights beamed brightly on the glass as they drove down the street, some stopping abruptly for a traffic light. She could just barely see Levy's small car in one of the few parking spaces in front of the shop. It was such a cute car, but Lucy highly doubts she'll be able to fit in such a thing. Only someone Levy's size would be able to sit in there and actually be _comfortable_.

"Wow, looks like Droy's getting a work out. Look at how fast he's moving just to cook. I hope he can handle everything, he still looks kind of depressed about Cynthia." Levy mumbled in worry, gazing at Droy, who was now running around yelling orders to the other cooks.

Lucy looked back to the petite girl, noticing how sympathetic she suddenly came for the obese man. A small smile made its way up her lips at the sight.

"Jeez Levy, don't tell me you're falling for him." She joked at her, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Levy just rolled hers, obviously not affected by her assumption.

"Oh whatever. He's a sweet guy and all but he's not my type. You know that." She admonished the blonde, sending her a playful glare.

Lucy sighed loudly, letting her chin fall into the palm of her hand. "Of course. But don't be mean to him, you're still the reason he gives us discounts."

Levy raised an eyebrow at that, taking a sip of her drink as she glanced to her.

"How do you know _I'm_ the reason? It could be you."

"Nice try. You know he has a major crush on you! Him and Jet are always fighting over which restaurant you think is better, it's kind of adorable." Lucy giggled at her, watching her cheeks flush of embarrassment.

Levy puffed out her cheeks and let out a short whine, leaning on the table as well. "More like ridiculous! I don't know how many times I've told them I wasn't interested, but they never listen! I don't want to hurt them either..."

"Eh, they'll figure it out eventually. Don't worry." Lucy shrugged, playing with a straw wrapper she found on the table.

Levy just huffed at her, sending her an unnoticed glare with scrunched lips.

"Miss Levy! Your order, made especially quickly just for you!" Droy's voice called out from behind the counter, waving a chubby arm at her with hearts in his eyes.

She merely just waved back, giving an uncomfortable smile. A groan escaped from behind her teeth, along with a rose blush as other customers gazed her way curiously.

"Awww!" Lucy giggled from beside her as Levy hopped down from the tall stool.

She snapped her head back, giving her a vicious growl with a glare accompanying it. Lucy did nothing but blow a kiss at her, winking seductively as she backed up to get their food.

Lucy laughed as Levy narrowed her eyes at her while turning back, feeling her phone vibrate in her jean skirt pocket. She looked down to the phone, smiling mindlessly as her fingers flew across the screen to type a reply to the text she had received.

A plate-full of a toasted BLT filled her view, making her look up to the steaming goodness with surprise. She smiled a thanks at Levy and put her phone down next to the plate, grabbing a handful of the giant sandwich.

"Mm, speaking of boyfriends..." Levy had started, putting a finger up as she chewed her bite of the sandwich.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at her and took another bite, curiously worried at where she was going with this.

"How is that Natsu guy?" She finished, gazing into her eyes in eager intensity.

Lucy automatically blushed at Levy's assumption of the two, lowering her head down to hide her rosy cheeks. Her phone buzzed once again, shaking around on the table as a chirp erupted from it.

"Ooo, is that him now?" Levy squealed, snatching her phone before she could make the jump herself.

"Levy!" Lucy cried out, leaning across the table to take it back from her.

Levy simple just turned around in her seat, laughing loudly as she felt the blonde pound her back.

"Ohh, so it _was_ Natsu! How about we send him a text hm?" She snickered deviously, using her one arm to push away Lucy's desperate ones.

"Levy! No!" Lucy panicked, now nearly toppling over the table to get her phone back from further embarrassment.

"Dear Natsu, I think you're one of the cutest guys I've ever met, I love your pink hair and-"

"LEVY! DON'T YOU DARE SEND THAT!" Lucy yelled at her, slamming her hands on the table with a brightly flushed face.

Levy turned back to her, her head thrown back laughing while she handed out her phone. She angrily snatched it, keeping the precious item close to her to check and see if she actually did send something. She sighed in relief that she wasn't actually doing something and glared up to Levy, who was still laughing her head off.

"That's not funny, he woulda thought I was a total creep if you did that!" Lucy protested, her eyes still narrowed dangerously.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself, it's not every day I find my best friend falling in looove." She drug out playfully, batting her long lashes at her innocently.

Lucy mumbled a few curses, shifting in her seat uncomfortably as her face grew hotter of embarrassment.

"I don't 'looove' him. We've just been hanging out, thats all." She declared calmly, keeping her head high.

"Mmhm, sure you have. Now tell me, have you kissed yet?" Levy bluntly asked, resting her chin on her interlocked fingers with big eyes.

Lucy's mouth gaped open, her eyebrows furrowing down instantly as her cheeks flared up just at the mere thought. "Of course not! We just friends okay! FRIENDS."

Levy just rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed at how secretive and stubborn the blonde was being about the subject.

"Fine, fine. If you want to be that way. I'm just happy for you, you know? It's good there's someone to take your mind off him." Levy serenely said, a small smile making its way up her lips.

Lucy pursed her lips down to her plate, letting her fingers come up and clutch the metallic dog tags underneath her shirt. She could still even feel the engraving of him name through the fabric, letting her trace out every letter.  
Before she had even knew it, a weak smile was on her face, her lips pressed together with the corners lifting up slightly.

"Maybe I do..like him.."

Levy's face automatically brightened up at her words, already trying to forced down a high-pitched squeal from erupting from her throat. Lucy looked up to her, already ready to cut off her shriek.

"Just a little! It's not that big a deal, I barely even know him still." She added, making the girl across from her settle down.

"Aw, I'm so happy for you Lucy! This is great!" She squealed, shaking her hands in excitement.

Lucy merely just rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink. "Don't get too excited, there's still time for me to find out something totally weird about him that can ruin everything."

"Well don't count on it. Just text me if anything big happens okay?" Levy demanded of her, biting off some of a chip to eat.

"Whatever."

* * *

**New chappy :) Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it might seem like I have no plot right now but I promise I do XD **

**Thanks for reading! OMG I NEARLY HAVE 120 FOLLOWS THIS IS SO AMAZING! **

**How about another challenge? -seriously I have like 20 stories you haven't heard of yet -.-**

**If I can get at least...130 follows? 125? Idk somewhere between those or either 75 reviews, Ill leak another summary? I especially like this story im thinkin of, Im so glad I thought of it. I haven't actually started it, but you know the deal. a bunch of notes that look like they've been written by a 4th grader :}**

**So yeah, FOLLOW AND REVIEW! ESPECIALLY REVIEW!**


	11. SHE IS A GOOD DRIVER

**~Promises Never Kept~**

**Chapter 11**

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Lucy slept soundly in her fluffy bed, clutching her red dragon tightly to her chest mindlessly. A tiny ray of sunlight started to leak in, the sun just beginning to rise above the horizon. She shifted slightly, letting go of the dragon to tug her blanket up to her chin snugly.

_BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT._

Lucy exhaled soundly, turning over in her sheets to bury her face in her pillow.

_BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT._

She cracked her eyes open, feeling her phone vibrate her bed continuously. She licked her dry lips slowly, looking around in the dim lit room confusedly.

_BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT_.

Lucy realized someone was calling her and let out an annoyed groan. She glanced to her clock. 6:43. Who the heck was calling her this early?! She twisted around in her sheets, throwing them off one after one to search for her phone hidden between them. She finally found it, blinking rapidly to clear up her sight to read the number. She didn't know it. Should she answer?

Jeez, she can never decide what to do in times like this. If she did answer it, it could easily be another salesperson trying to sell her a product. Then her weakness for being nice would keep her on the phone and pretend to be interested in what the man had to say.  
But if she didn't answer, she could be missing out on something important. Eh...she just couldn't risk that.

_BZZZT. BZZ-_

"..hello?" She mumbled into her speaker, rubbing her forehead free of blonde strands.

"Hello, is this Lucy Heartfillia?" A woman's voice spoke to her properly.

"Yes?" She raised an eyebrow at the phone, curious at how they got her number. Whoever they were.

"We have you signed down for an emergency contact for Miss Levy Mcgarden. We'd like to report to you about an accident she was in last night."

Lucy sat up straight in her bed, eyes widening at the statement.

"What? What happened to her? Is she okay?" She blurted all at once, kicking the rest of her sheets off her.

"She is in the midst of being examined. She was in a car wreck last night and was sent to the ER. Please come down for further explanation." The lady asked her calmly.

"Yeah, I'll be there right away." Lucy nodded to her phone, pulling out a pair of jeans to put over her Pajama shorts.

Lucy hung up her phone and hurriedly yanked on her jeans. She grabbed a pair of sandals and jogged to her car in anxious worry for her friend. How could she of been in a car accident? She just saw her last night! Levy was one of the most careful drivers she had ever met, there's no way. How severe was the wreck? She had to go through the emergency room, please don't tell her it's too serious.

* * *

Lucy raced down to Magnolia Hospital, quickly rushing in the doors while hooking on her flip flops. She saw a lady patrolling the front desk. She wore plain white scrubs, with a bright head of short pink hair. Her dark eyes turned to Lucy, boring holes into hers with an emotionless gaze.

"May I help you?" The lady asked.

"I'm here for Levy Mcgarden. She was sent to the ER last night." Lucy breathed out to her, clutching the counter with sweaty palms.

She stared at the desklady as she began to type on her computer, her blunt gaze now turning to the screen. The blonde looked down to the baby blue nametag that hung on her breast pocket. Virgo. Well Virgo, can you hurry up a bit? Her friend could be dying for all she knows.

"Ah yes, Miss Mcgarden. She has been stabilized and is now in room 458." Virgo spoke to her, now turning her gaze back.

"Thank you." Lucy mumbled before darting down the hallway to search for her room.

Lucy's eyes searched every room palate for 458, counting up for every room she passed. She swerved beside patients on gurneys and others strolling down the bleach white hallways, anticipation gnawing in the pit of her stomach.

"454, 456, 458!" She whispered to herself and approached the closed door.

Lucy cracked open the door, peeking her messy blonde head in. She saw the petite girl, sitting up straight in bed with a plastic spoon stuck in her mouth and a handful of Jello in her free hand.

She walked all the way in, her eyebrows falling along with her lips that turned into a small frown. "Levy..."

Said girl looked up, pulling the spoon from her mouth slowly. She gave a shaky smile to her, placing the small cup down on a table that stretched across her lap. "Hey.."

Lucy sighed and slumped down into a seat next to her bed, utterly relieved that she seemed to be okay. She still didn't look as good as she hoped though. In fact, she looked pretty horrible. Bloody stitches covered her right cheek and left eyebrow, black thread protruding from them boldly. Her entire torso was covered in heavy padding, keeping her posture straight and stiff. She had gauze wrapped up and down her arms to her hand, in which her left hand was in a neon orange cast up to her wrist. More stitches and cuts seemed to show through the gauze on her arms, and that was what she could see from above her blanket. She didn't even want to know about the lower half of her body.

"Levy what's going on? What happened? Are you okay?" Lucy pleaded to her, grabbing her casted hand gently.

Levy smiled sheepishly, using her free hand to rub her blue locks shyly. "Just got in bit of an accident. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"What happened? What's wrong with you?" Lucy pressed on, still not satisfied with her statement.

Levy sighed and leaned back into the pillow behind her, licking her busted lower lip slowly. "I don't even know what happened really."

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"_Alright, bye Lu-chan. I'll text you later." Levy said to her as they walked to her small car in the dim light._

_"Okay, I'll see you later. Be careful okay?" Lucy waved to her, starting her walk down the stoned pavement to her apartment._

_Levy nodded reassuringly at her, ducking into her car to start the engine. She sighed from her meal she had finished from Lucy, the rest of the conversation turning into yet another 'mini bookclub'. Well sort of. It was about the books that they had written, they always talked to each other to get good ideas for another story. They were so eager and passionate it, once they started an idea, it was almost impossible for them to stop. They really were way to much alike for their own good._

_Levy drove down the street at the proper speed, bright headlights shining on the opposite end of the road in the darkness. A traffic light shined red up beyond her, her shifting her foot on the brake to prepare to stop. The light abruptly turned green before she even made it to the light, so she went back to the gas pedal.  
She began to hum along to a song that played on the radio, speeding up to the speed limit as she began to cross half an intersection._

_A loud engine rang in her ears along with the screeching of tires as she was in the midst of passing the light. She felt as if everything played in slow motion at this point. Her head turned, only to have her gaze filled to the rim with the shining car headlights._

_The car hit dead on, the nose of it crashing right into her car door. Glass exploded from the windows, shattering from both the cars as she heard metal crunch and crush from beside her. The other car merely stopped at the impact, but Levy's didn't. Her car was forced back, tipping on it's side from the massive pressure. Metal and glass was heard scraping and crashing from miles away. Her car flipped. Once. Twice. Three times, before it slammed into a tree on it's right side. The crushed metal creaked, before letting go of the damaged tree trunk and falling back onto the street, it's roof side down._

_Levy felt an explosion of pain burst in her chest, causing her to choke of a gasp as her eyes shot wide open from shock. She heard it. Something snapped. Then something cracked. Her head slammed into an airbag, then back into her headrest._

_All she could do was stay there, unsure herself if she was even conscious. She heard shouts and screams come from outside, then sirens. But for some reason, all she could really hear was dripping. Dripping of her own blood, and the faint echo of something cracking and snapping._

_._

_._

"Apparently some dumbass who was trying to make a robbery getaway hit me. That's why he ran a red light." Levy sighed, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Oh Levy, I'm so sorry. How are you? What's wrong?" Lucy asked worried, taking another glance at her wrappings and padding's.

Levy looked down herself, trying to sum up all the doctors had told her before. "Oh. They said nothing too serious, but I needed to be extra careful for a while. They said I had minor brain damage, I cracked a rib on my left side, a broken hand, and a pretty bad case of whiplash." She ended with a slight chuckle, rubbing her sore neck, that was also wrapped up in gauze.

"Jesus Levy, that's horrible." Lucy frowned at her, clenching her cast tighter with teary eyes.

Levy merely just smiled at her, her heart filling with warmth from her friends sympathy. She would hold her hand back if she could move it.

"I'll be fine. I just can't drive for a while, Doctors orders. They said I should just rest for a couple months and get healthy again."

"That's good. You shouldn't be doing a lot, either. I'll look out for you okay? I'll visit and everything." Lucy laughed a bit at her, a sad smile coming onto her lips.

"You don't have too Lucy. I just have to sit around for a couple months. I can still walk and do stuff." Levy told her.

"Yeah, just don't tire yourself out. Ugh, I was so worried when they called me. I'm so glad you're okay." Lucy sighed out, leaning over to gently hug her friend.

"I'm sorry, thanks for coming." She replied as the blonde pulled away, sitting down again.

Lucy smiled at her and heard an annoyed groan come from her, as if she had just remembered something unpleasant.

"I probably don't want to know, but how's my car?" She asked bluntly, trying to slouch down in her bed.

Lucy laughed at this, using a finger to wipe away a tear producing in the corner of her eye. "Oh..it's probably destroyed."

Levy let out another loud groan, rolling her eyes in annoyance and frustration. "Stupid idiot, probably going to cost me a fortune just to get it fixed."

"That is if it's fixable. You might have to get a new one." Lucy also reminded her, arching her eyebrows in a sympathetic way.

Levy whined under her breath, a childish pout coming on her face and she crossed her arms over her bulky chest. "Bastard robber..."

Lucy laughed at her, rarely ever hearing the small woman curse in such a way. She sniffed and leaned her head down on her lap, utterly relieved she was going to be fine. She would be fine. It would all be fine.

* * *

**~Promises Never Kept~**

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"Do I really need to wear this?"

Levy tugged at the black straps that crossed her back, looping around her shoulders tightly. The thing was so uncomfortable, it was supposed to keep her back posture straight for her cracked rib to heal properly, but she really can't stand this.  
Lucy's hand smacked hers away from the strap, fixing what she had undone as Levy sighed into the mirror they stood in front.

"Yes, now quit messing with it. The doctor said you needed to keep it on." She spoke sharply to her, flattening it down over her shirt.

"Ugh, I hate this. Everything's so bulky and tough. I can't even sleep at night wearing all this junk." Levy sighed, puffing out her cheeks as she watched Lucy continued to check her medical procedures in the full body mirror.

"Well this 'junk' is keeping you alive, so yeah. Better that than no sleep right?" She tried lightening the mood.

"But I don't see how this helps a cracked rib cage." Levy pressed on, trying to readjust the strap so it doesn't dig into her shoulder.

"Well your rib cage is in front of your back, so it does help." She easily replied.

Levy raised an eyebrow at her reflection, her lips scrunching up in a confused way. "Of course it's in the back, that's why they call it a back!"

Lucy just rolled her eyes, grabbing the girls shoulders to direct her away from the mirror. "I think that brain damage is getting to you, let's take a nap."

Levy groaned in reply and stumbled as Lucy pushed her back towards the bed. She huffed childishly and climbed atop, sitting cross-legged on top of the sheets as she played with a stuffed animals ear.

"Oh right, you gotta take your pills. I'll be right back." Lucy suddenly said, snapping her finger as she hurried out of the room.

Levy sighed and leaned onto her backboard, bringing the stuffed bunny onto her lap. Her condition has gotten better over the past couple of days. Lucy kept her promise and visited often to make sure she was okay and she didn't need help with anything. Although she was kind enough to do so, she could be a little overwhelming at times. She would make a great mother one day. Up until they turn into teens, at least. Then they'll hate her.

"Okay! I brought some juice to help it go down too." Lucy beamed at her, coming across the room to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Thanks Lucy. You know you don't have to do all of this right?" Levy questioned her with a smile, taking the handful of pills in her healthy hand.

She just shrugged at her, a sweet smile on her lips as her fingers played with the hem of her sheets. "It's cool. Gives me something to do. Plus, I can finally help you get those books on the top shelf you're always complaining about not getting to reach."

Levy pouted at her, quietly sipping on the drink from Lucy's hand before she knocked back the 5 pills in her hand.

"So what about your car? I'm sure your insurance will cover it since the guy ran the light." Lucy brought up, twisting her leg around to sit cross-legged.

"Well..." She scratched her head, her gaze lowering to the floor beside her.

Lucy eyed her carefully, watching her fiddle with her bunny's ear again as she refused to make eye contact with her. She stared at her a moment more before her eyes went wide.

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE?"

"It's not my fault!"

"How is it not your fault!? Of course it's your fault!" Lucy shrieked at her, planting her hands down on the bed as she leaned in.

Levy cowered away, scooting closer towards the backboard and bringing her legs in to her chest shamefully.

"How do you not have insurance of all people!" Lucy gawked at her.

"I am a safe driver! I always follow the speed limits, I don't run red lights or stop signs, I rarely drive at night and I always wear my seat belt! I don't need insurance because I'm a good driver!" Levy shouted at her, ending with a pout on her lips and arched eyebrows.

Lucy blinked at her before backing her head away, her lips parting slowly and her eyebrows furrowing. "So, you mean to tell me you don't have insurance, because your too _proud_?"

"No!" She denied, "I mean I don't need it because I would never cause a car wreck because I'M A GOOD DRIVER OKAY!"

Lucy's mouth opened to her in a silent gawk before shutting close in defeat. Her hands raised in surrender as she stepped off the bed, a disbelieved smile on her lips. Silence filled between the two as Lucy paced around the bed.

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"You do realize that you're screwed right?"

"Yes I do, thank you very much."

X

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**Yayy, new chappy! Thanks for reading everyone and all the responses, omg someone said this was like a Nicholas Sparks novel...that's just...WOOOOW! Biggest complement Ive EVER gotten, omg! Of course im sure im nothing like him but that's so sweet ommgg! I wish I could reply but your only a guest :(**

**Anyways, HEY GOT 76 REVIEWS! You lucky dogs, just barely reaching my dare ;}**

**Heres my new story summary:**

**_And now here they were. Left on the ground lifelessly. Blood and mud caked their skin, ragged holes gaped in their bodies, they should be dead. Yet, they're unable to die. What happened to them? To always saying, I am a Fairy Tail mage! There's nothing that can possibly happen to make me give up in this world! Simple. Those who say that, had never experienced a Hell like this._**

**What do you think? Its really kind of depressing actually but you know me. I love torture. :} You could probably tell with... all of my other stories but yeah. **

**REVIEW. NOW. NO JOKE.**

**WAIT.**

**#NO JOKE.**


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